Next Level Underground
by Sakura Courage Solo
Summary: Sonic Underground Fanfic! The Sonic Underground find out they have an adopted sister, and she's... HUMAN! Just what is her destiny? Chapter 12 up! Sakura finds out about her cursed past before returning to the present. Can she deal with it?
1. Fevered Dreams

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

**Author's Notes:**  
This is my first Sonic Underground fanfic, so constructive criticism would be muchly appreciated. I haven't seen the full series, but I've read most of the plot synopses and such (And got the DVD set for my birthday early. ). So, if I'm off on a point or something, lemme know. I'll try and construct this as well around the series as possible. If I deviate from it some, just... pretend it's alternate universe.

**Sonia:** _"Is alternate universe your solution to all your fanfic problems?"_

**Manic:** _"Hey, long as it works... I can dig it. "_

**Sonic:** _"Can we get this overwith? I'm starving and the local chili dog stand closes in half an hour!"_

**Sakura:** _"Fine, fine! Someone do the disclaimer already... "_

**Sonia:** _'sigh' "Sakura does not own us or Sonic Underground, just the plot of this story and her own character. She's flat broke after spending all her cash on Vanilla Coke and discount Anime DVDs at the local Dollar General, so sueing her would be pointless anyway. "_

**Sakura:** _"... You didn't need to go into such detail, Sonia... "_

**Manic:** _"... discount Anime DVDs? Um, did they have any Sailor Moon DVDs?"_

**Everyone:** _'Gives Manic wierd looks'_

**Manic:** _"WHAT? Sailor Jupiter is hot man, there's no denyin' that! "_

**Sakura:** _'clears throat' "Riiiiight, on with the fanfic. "_

-

_Chapter 1_

**"Fevered Dreams "**

-

Toss and turn.

Toss and turn again.

That's all Manic could seem to to that night as he laid in bed in a fevered sleep, his dreams restless and fitful.

Sonia gently patted down his forehead with a cool cloth, trying to get his fever down a bit. She mentally cursed herself for not telling Manic sooner that the bushes he'd walked into earlier as he looked for firewood had been Lungburn bushes. She bit her lower lip, just wishing she had seen him before he went in so she could have stopped him.

Manic let out a pained and weak groan in his sleep and coughed a bit, a little blood coming up on his lips. His sister winced a little at the sight and picked up a clean cloth, gently wiping his lips free of the life fluid and hoping Sonic would get back with a doctor soon.

-

Meanwhile, in Manic's dream, he found himself in an unusual yet familiar place... it was a dark and enclosed space, but warm and comfortable as he layed there in a curled up position. He could hear the constant, soothing sound of a heartbeat, as well as the sounds of voices outside of this small but cozy space. Was he... dreaming about before he was born? He wasn't sure, but whatever he was dreaming right now, he liked it. He had never felt so safe, warm and comfortable.

His ears then twitched a bit as he decided to listen to what the people outside were saying. He could hear two female voices; one was his Mother, Queen Aleena, while the other sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. The voice sounded like it belonged to a very young girl. Manic wondered who that could be exactly, and so continued to listen as he heard his Mother say,

"It won't be long now before you're a big sister, sweetheart. "

The small girl giggled a little and exclaimed,

"Yup yup! I bet I'm gonna have the cutest little brothers! "

Aleena chuckled and replied to her,

"One of them might be a sister you know. "

"I know, but I'll still love her if she is! I don't mind! "

Manic was becoming confused now. Just who was that little girl that his Mother was talking to right now? She had referred to her as his older sister, apparently. It didn't make sense to him though. If Sonic, Manic and Sonia had an older sister, wouldn't Aleena have told them?

He dismissed the thought, mentally noting to himself that he must be dreaming right now and that they couldn't have an older sister. Their Mother would have told them about such had it been so, and they would have seen some sign of her by now... right?

That's when he could suddenly sense the scenery outside changing some, and the once soothing and gentle sound of the constant heartbeat had become erattic and quick. Aleena was muttering to herself now, as though greatly worried over something. Manic so wanted to ask what was wrong, but had to remind himself he couldn't for his position.

The sound of footsteps could be heard now, soon followed by the voice of who Manic guessed to be a palace guard. The guard said,

"Queen Aleena, I regret to inform you that even after a thorough check of the palace as well as the city itself, there is no trace of your daughter. I'm sorry, but we should probably expect the worst. "

"No... no, please, she has to be somewhere! She couldn't have just disappeared! She knows better than to go off and leave the palace unattended! "

Aleena said through a few tearful sniffles, the guard sighing as he replied,

"That is unfortunately why I stated we should expect the worst, my Queen. She was most likely kidnapped. "

"No... no... this isn't happening... "

She whispered through her sobs, Manic wishing so deeply that he could comfort her right now. He couldn't stand the thought of his Mother crying...

-

"Manic? Manic, come on, wake up. "

Sonic beckoned as his younger brother slowly but surely started to open his eyes. Manic coughed a bit and weakly managed to say,

"S-Sonic... ? Sonia... ? Wha-what happened... ? "

The green Hedgehog blinked a time or two in an attempt to adjust his eyes to the light, then feeling the cold metal of a stethocope bell gently press against his chest. He looked up to see a blue Fox woman with ruby chocolate eyes and wearing a nurse's uniform listening to his heartbeat. The Fox woman smiled a little when she saw he was awake and said,

"Hey there... Manic, is it? Just relax, your lungs are still recovering themselves. They were burned pretty nastily after you got in those Lungburn bushes. "

"L-lungburn bushes? "

Manic asked in slight confusion, the memory then slowly coming back to him as he nodded a bit, glancing over at his Brother and Sister. Sonia came forward and said,

"We were so worried Manic, but Doctor Vanna says you'll be okay with some rest. "

Sonic nodded and added,

"Yeah, you've been lying there a few days now. We were starting to think you wouldn't wake up. "

Manic managed a weak smirk and replied,

"You guys aren't gonna get rid of me that easy... "

Vanna chuckled a bit and pulled the stethoscope back, then putting Manic's covers back over him.

"Yes, it's actually a wonder you survived. It was a while before you were healthy enough for us to move you out of the van and into the hospital here. "

She told him, then picking up a thermometer to check his temperature with and placing it in his mouth.

"Now, keep that under your tongue until I get back. I'm going to go get your medications. "

-

Later that evening, Manic decided to tell Sonic and Sonia about his fevered dream. Sure, it was an odd one that seemingly could never take form in real life, but... he'd felt a certain bit of reality to it as he'd experienced it. He felt it was something his siblings should know.

After he'd finished telling them, Sonia and Sonic looked at one another with wide eyes, then back at Manic. The green Hedgehog sighed softly and averted his gaze.

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy... "

He murmured through the meds he was on, closing his tired eyes a bit. Sonic and Sonic were quick to shake their heads though as the blue Hedgehog then said,

"No, it's not crazy, Manic... I... I had the same dream once before myself! "

Manic's eyes snapped open and he looked at Sonic in utter surprise.

"Y-you did? "

Sonic nodded, his Sister then adding,

"I've had that dream too! I wonder if it means something... "

"I dunno... but it seems like Mom would've said something about us having an older sister, or we would've seen some sign of this sister. "

Sonic said, Manic then adding,

"Ma probably didn't want us to know because she didn't want us hurt that our sister had been taken... "

"Yeah... "

Sonia agreed with a nod, looking down at the floor.

Sonic glanced around in thought, then looking back to his siblings.

"Well, I say we should try and find some concrete to support this. If we do have a sister out there, we need to find her. She may still be alive out there somewhere. "

Sonia and Manic nodded in agreement. If they had a sister out there, they'd find her.

-

End Chapter 1

-

_So, what'd ya think people? Good so far? Bad so far? Lemme know. Constructive Criticism would be muchly appreciated. In fact, I'm thinking of giving this fanfic another title. I'm not so sure the current one works. Thanks for reading!_


	2. Sister?

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 2_

**"Sister?"**

-

"If anyone can tell us where our Sister is, assuming she really does exist, the Oracle can. "

Sonic stated as he, Manic and Sonia stood at the entrance to the Oracle's cave. It had been about a week since Manic had woken up from his run-in with the Lungburn, and he was still slightly weak from the experience to boot, but he couldn't let himself wait around any longer. He wanted to find out more about his other Sister, as Sonic and Sonia did.

"Well, we won't get our answers standing out here. "

Sonia said, walking down into the cavern with her brothers following.

Sure enough, down in the cavern, the Oracle stood in his 'lab' as one might call it, mixing mystical potions and such. No surprise, considering. Sonic was about to get the Oracle's attention, but the old Alligator (Or is he a Crocodile? Meh, you people know what I mean. .) turned to the Blue Hedgehog before he even opened his mouth, giving a fond smile.

"Ah, I see you have come to me once again. "

He said.

"Might this visit be about your... other Sister? "

Sonic, Manic and Sonia simply nodded, not really surprised that the Oracle already seemed to know of their request. The Oracle nodded as well, sighing slightly.

"As I anticipated, the deepest of your memories have come forth again in your dreams... well then, I'll tell you what you should know. "

The old Alligator turned his back to the triplet Hedgehogs, starting to pace across the stone floor as he spoke.

"You three do indeed have an older Sister. Adopted, but a Sister. "

"Adopted? "

Sonia asked, blinking as her eyes followed the pacing Oracle. He nodded in reply and added,

"Even she has no idea of her true origin, but it will be revealed to her in time. As your Mother left you on the doorsteps of others for your safety and care, someone left your Sister on your Mother's doorstep, not too long before she found out that you three would be coming along shortly. "

"So, what exactly happened to her... ? Was she really kidnapped? "

Manic asked in perplexion, the Oracle turning to him and replying,

"Yes, she was indeed kidnapped, but for a good reason. "

"How the heck could anyone get kidnapped for a good reason! "

Sonic snapped, becoming impatient. Sonia gave him a glare and retorted,

"Quiet, Sonic! Just listen! "

The Oracle cleared his throat and finally said,

"I told someone to do it. "

The triplets all gave a slight gasp of surprise, Manic then taking a step forward after regaining his composure.

"Why... ?"

He asked.

"Why would you... do something like that? "

"Several reasons. She needed to be hidden away in safety as you three did, but I had to have her taken away before your birth, so that you would not all meet at the same time. You three needed to understand and harmonize with one another before doing so with your Sister. "

"But why? Stop beating around the bush and tell us!"

Sonic snapped again, Sonia fwapping him in the back of the head as the Oracle continued,

"This is something you will understand once you find your Sister. You will know her when you see her. "

With that, the Oracle simply handed Sonic an old scroll.

"Now go, find her. Time is short now. "

"What do you mean 'time is short'? "

Sonia asked, but the Oracle simply waved them off and continued his work. The three Hedgehogs simply sighed and left.

-

"Well, the Oracle didn't help us too much other than the map. "

Sonic huffed a bit later as he rode shotgun in the Sonic Underground Van, Manic driving as Sonia read the map on the scroll they'd been given.

"He didn't even bother to tell us her name! "

"Well, you know how the Oracle is. Always has to make a riddle of everything. "

Sonia said as she read over the map.

"Okay, according to this map, we need to find this village. "

She pointed to a place on the map called 'Blackridge Village', seated near the foot of the Ice Cap Mountains. Since it was near the piedmont though, it probably would have a more spring-like climate instead of the frigid, icy temperatures of the Ice Cap Zone at the top.

"All right then, Blackridge Village it is! "

Manic said with a confident smirk as he drove forward, right into a pothole. His older siblings let out a yelp of surprise and clung to their seats for dear life. It was gonna be a loooooong ride.

-

After a long and bumpy ride in the Sonic Underground Van with Manic at the wheel, Sonic and Sonia sighed with relief and climbed out the instant they were at the foot of the Ice Cap Mountains. The two almost kissed the ground as Manic jumped out of the van behind them, taking a glance at the tall mountain before turning back to his brother and sister.

"Come on, my drivin's not THAT bad, izzit? "

He asked matter-of-factly, Sonic huffing before making his reply,

"Let's just say I'm NEVER getting in the van with YOU behind the wheel again!"

"Hey, c'mon Bro, chill! I got us here in one piece, didn't I? "

"BARELY! "

Sonia snapped at him, then huffing and taking a look up at the mountain herself.

"Well, there's no road in these mountains, so we'll have to camouflage the Van and go in on foot. "

Sonic and Manic both nodded, the green Hedgehog then turning back to the Van.

"You guys go on ahead, I'll catch up after hiding the Van. "

"All right, just don't take too long and get too far behind. "

Sonic told him, he and Sonia then starting up the mountainside as Manic got to work on camouflaging the Van in a small cavern, hiding the entrance by pulling a covering of mountain moss over it. He wiped a bit of sweat from his green furred brow and exited the Sonic Underground Van's new 'garage', starting to head up the side of the mountain in the same path his siblings had.

He walked for a while, figuring he must've taken longer than he'd thought in hiding the Van, as there was no sign of Sonic and Sonia as of yet. He was starting to wonder if maybe he'd gone the wrong way.

That's when a shot of blaster fire suddenly rang out, barely missing Manic as it scorched a fairly big hole in the rocky ground nearby. The Hedgie let out a yelp of surprise and turned on his heels to see a couple of swatbots coming up the mountain after him. He let out a yelp of surprise and glanced around, not wanting to lead them to Blackridge Village, so he started running along the side of the mountain, the Swatbots firing blast after blast after him, barely missing each time.

Manic was deeply tempted to use his pendant to summon his drum and send them underground with some earth shaking riffs, but in these mountains, he was afraid he might cause a rockslide in doing so. All he could do now was run and hope to shake them off.

That's when one of the Swatbots got wise and raised it's metal arm, firing a laser blast at a large but loose rock a little bit above on the mountainside. The rock wobbled and started rolling down the rocky slant of the mountainside.

Manic stopped when he saw a shadow suddenly being cast over him and glanced up to see the source, only to see the huge rock rolling right at him. He let out a yell and covered his head, knowing he wasn't quick enough to get out of the boulder's way in time. He wondered if this was really it.

That's when he suddenly felt someone tackle him from behind, rolling on the ground with him quickly and out of the way of the boulder as it rolled past, barely missing Manic and the person who'd just rescued him. The Green Hedgehog blinked a time or two and looked up to see his rescuer, almost jumping when he saw it was a human girl. She watched the rock roll away, then looked back to Manic with a pair of aqua green eyes.

"You all right? "

She asked him, brushing a lock of her long, blonde hair from her face. Manic nodded a little in response as he stood up, dusting himself off. The human girl nodded and stood up as well, dusting off her grey shirt and her jeans, re-rolling up the sleeve of her camouflage jacket up to her elbow. It had rolled down her arm when she'd tackled Manic.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks... "

Manic replied to her, the girl nodding and looking at the dustcloud the rolling boulder had kicked up. She turned to Manic.

"Come on, let's move before the dustcloud settles and the Swatbots see us. "

She said, quickly turning and moving over to a pile of boulders, squeezing herself into a small space between them. Manic was quick to follow after she'd disappeared into the small crevace of the boulders, squeezing himself through without hesitation.

The dust died down moments after they'd gone in, and the Swatbots looked around confusedly, wondering where they could have gone to.

-

"Thanks for saving me back there... "

Manic said after he and the human girl had gone through the hole and walked for a few steps down a narrow stretch of cavern. The girl lit up a flashlight and replied,

"No problem, just glad I was there to help. So, what's your name? "

She asked, continuing to walk now as the Green Hedgehog replied,

"Manic... and you? "

The girl blinked a time or two, scratching her blonde head a bit.

"Manic... that name sounds awfully familiar... eh, well. Anyway, my name's Sakura. "

"Sakura... nice name. So, you... live anywhere close around here? 'Cause knowing about this cavern, you seem to know the lay of the land. "

"Yes, actually. I live in Blackridge Village, just a little bit up the mountain. "

"Blackridge Village? Hey, that's where I'm headed! My Bro and Sis might already be there for all I know. They got a head start up there. "

"Really? Well then, I'll take you on up there. I was in this cavern looking for treasure earlier and got a little lost, and ended up coming out where you and I came back in. I think I know now where I got lost though, so getting back through shouldn't be much problem. The other exit empties out about half a mile from Blackridge. "

"That's cool. So... "

Manic smirked at he part where she said she had been looking for treasure.

"Treasure hunter, huh? Did ya... happen to find anything? "

"Not today. I think I picked the place clean the first run through a couple of weeks ago, and even then I didn't find much. "

"So, you've been down here more than once. "

"Yeah, pretty much. "

Sakura glanced back behind them to make sure no one was following.

"Okay, shouldn't be far now. We just need to make it through the Marble Zone and we're cool. "

"... Marble Zone? "

Manic asked as they walked, the narrow cavern then emptying out into what appeared to be some ancient, underground ruins, with a few rivers of molten lava running about. Manic sweatdropped.

"Th-this is Marble Zone? "

He asked, Sakura nodding and starting to shove a large, stone block off into the lava.

"Yup. It's not as bad as it looks. As long as you don't fall in the lava, it's cool. "

With another shove, the stone block slid off into the lava, Sakura stepping on as it started to float across the bad of liquid fire. Manic shuddered, but got up his nerve and stepped on as well.

-

"Where the heck is Manic! "

Sonia complained a while later as she and Sonic now found themselves walking leisurely through the hidden mountain village of Blackridge, right where the map on the scroll had said it was.

The Blue Hedgehog looked to his sister and replied,

"I dunno, maybe we oughtta go back and find him... "

He said, then suddenly feeling someone tap his shoulder. He turned, seeing aother Hedgehog standing there; a Black Hedgehog with some upturned quills accented by red highlights, ruby red eyes and a white tuft of fur on his chest. He wore a pair of white gloves, like most male Hedgehogs, as well as gold rings on his ankles and wrists. A pair of unusual black and white shoes with red metal rims and air thrusters on the bottom covered his feet.

The Black Hedgehog had a look of worry in his eyes, and looked a bit breathless as he asked,

"Excuse me, did you happen to see a human girl around here? Long blonde hair, aqua green eyes, wearing a camo jacket with the sleeves rolled up, jeans and combat boots?"

Sonic and Sonia looked at each other, then back to the black Hedgehog as Sonia replied,

"No, sorry... we haven't seen anyone like that. Why? Is she missing? "

The Black Hedgehog nodded, looking down at the ground as he said,

"Yeah, her name's Sakura. She's my adoptive Daughter. I think she might've slipped off to Marble Zone again after I told her not to go. She won't listen even though I keep telling her it's dangerous. I was hoping to find her in the village so I wouldn't have to go after her, but if she's not here... "

Sonic blinked and looked to his sister as he asked her,

"Sonia, wasn't Marble Zone on the map scroll? "

Sonia nodded and replied,

"Yeah, it was. It's underground and right along the path we traveled up here. Says here there's an exit of the zone that empties out about half a mile from here. "

"All right then... well, we gotta look for Manic anyway, so we might as well look for this Sakura girl too. "

Sonic said, looking to the Black Hedgehog.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. Our Bro is kinda missing too, so... "

The Black Hedgehog sighed with a bit of relief and said,

"Thanks, I'd really appreciate that. I get tired of going and looking for her so much myself. "

Sonia smirked.

"No problem, we'll find the kid. How hard can it be? "

-

A few minutes later, Manic and Sakura were just now emerging from the Marble Zone Exit, Manic sighing with relief and wiping some hot sweat from his brow.

"I'm never... going in that Zone... again... "

He murmured, Sakura smirking slightly as she brushed back a lock of her hair again.

"Oh, come on, it wasn't THAT bad. "

She said, opening her backpack and pulling out a bottle of Vanilla Coke, taking a drink of it. Manic's eyes widened at the drink and he snatched it quickly from her hands, taking a big drink of it.

"GAH! You had this drink all along and never said so as hot as it was down there!"

He asked after drinking down about half the bottle. Sakura snatched the bottle back and replied,

"Well, the plastic would've melted in that heat had I taken it out of my bag! Now come on, let's hurry and get to... "

That's when blaster fire suddenly rang out again, a hot red stream of light shooting the soda bottle right out of Sakura's hands. The blonde girl sweatdropped, she and Manic turning to see Swatbots coming after them again.

"Oh, snap... "

Sakura muttered.

"We can't lead them to the village... guess we'll have to fight them! "

Manic nodded in agreement. The surrounding area was coverd in grass and trees now, so chances of a rockslide from his drumming were slim. He was about to touch his pendant when he noticed Sakura reaching into the collar of her shirt, from which she soon produced a pendant of her own that resembled a flute. Manic's eyes widened a bit as she gently gave the pendant a rub, and it turned into a real flute.

"S-sis... ? "

He sort of mumbled, Sakura blinking in confusion when he said this. She wondered what he meant by that, clueless as Manic mumbled,

"But... you're a human, not a Hedgehog... "

Another blaster shot was fired, barely missing the two. Sakura glanced at Manic.

"I dunno what you're talking about, but let's worry about it later! Right now, we got Swatbots to trash! "

With that, Sakura started to play a quick but well timed and done piece of music (Think Green Grove from Sonic 3-D music, or Windy Valley from Sonic Adventure DX's music), the sound seemingly carrying out through the air and creating a small tornado, which quickly picked up the Swatbots and threw them down hard.

Manic was a bit in shock, but regained his composure, realizing he needed to fight now as he grabbed his pendant, summoning out his drums and started to play them hard and fast, creating an earthquake and buring the already badly damaged Swatbots. He and Sakura sighed with relief, recalling their intruments back to their pendants and lookng at each other. Sakura seemed just as surprised about Manic's abilities as he was about her's. Now Sakura realized why Manic's name sounded so familiar earlier and suddenly hugged him, Manic blinking a little in surprise, but gently hugging her back. Yes, this was definitely the Sister they had been looking for. Adopted, but their Sister.

What neither of them realized was that Sonic and Sonia had shown up and watched them demolish the Swatbots from a bit of a distance, their jaws dropped as they looked at each other in surprise.

"Sakura... is our Sister... ?"

Sonic muttered, Sonia nodding a little in a slow manner.

"I... guess so... she has powers similar to ours... "

She replied, Sonic then adding,

"And that Shadow guy DID say he had adopted her... and the Oracle did say Mom had adopted her before... so... "

"So... guess we found our Sister... "

-

End Chapter 2

-

_Wow. This chapter took up like, a 17 Kb text document. Almost twice as big as the 9 Kb first chapter. Please read and review peoples, I need me some constuctive criticism! n.n Thankies!_


	3. Her Worst Nightmare

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 3_

**"Her Worst Nightmare"**

-

"Let me make sure I heard you right... "

The annoyed, deep voice of Dr. Robotnik came as he sat in his chair before his control panels.

"The images you received from the Swatbots before they were destroyed showed... a human girl helping the green Hedgehog from the Underground, as well as this human girl having an ability with a musical instrument similar to his? "

He asked, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair as Sleet and Dingo stood behind him, Sleet nodding and making his reply,

"Yes sir. Here are the images we received. "

Sleet pulled a floppy disk from his pocket, inserting it into a nearby console. A computer monitor lit up in front of Robotnik, showing the recently recorded scene of Sakura summoning her flute and sending the Swatbots down in small but powerful whirlwind, soon followed by Manic summoning his drums and sending the Swatbots underground with an earthquake.

Robotnik snarled as he saw the footage, replaying it and freezing the tape when it got to a clear image of Sakura. The mad doctor inspected the picture carefully, then slamming his fist onto the arm of his chair.

"It's her... "

He sneered, then whirling his chair around to look at Sleet and Dingo.

"I want her dead... "

He told them.

-

"So, you're the one that the Oracle told to more or less kidnap our Sister? "

Sonic asked as he, Sonia and Shadow now sat inside a small house at the edge of the village where Shadow and Sakura lived, said human girl in her bed asleep at the moment, as it was late. Manic had decided to hit the sack as well and save conversation for the morn, the trek through Marble Zone having worn him out.

Shadow nodded in response to Sonic's question and said,

"Yes... I didn't really want to do it, but... the Oracle said that if I didn't, Sakura's life would be in danger. He told me to take her, raise her, train her in the combat arts... "

"Wait wait, train her in the combat arts? "

Sonia asked, quirking an eyebrow. The black Hedgehog took a sip from his coffee cup and replied,

"Yes. The Oracle said that one day, she'd have to fight, so she'd have to be ready. He disappeared after that, and I haven't seen him since, so... I took Sakura, raised her, trained her... she's grown up a lot since then. She faintly remembers her time at the palace, but... until now, she thought those faint memories were just remnants of an old dream or something like that. She didn't think there was any reality behind it. "

"So... what about Sakura's pendant? "

Sonic asked, leaning back on the couch as Shadow replied,

"She's always had it, or at least since I took her in. I have to say, the first time she summoned her flute, I was a little shocked. She just up and summoned it one day effortlessly. I didn't know what to think, really. We tried to keep it quiet from the other villagers though, just in case. "

The Black Hedgehog took another sip of his coffee, sighing as he said,

"Anyway, now that you're here, and it's clear that Sakura was adopted as your Sister, she should probably go with you and help with the rebellion. "

"Hmm... I dunno... "

Sonic murmured, Sonia blinking a bit in confusion before yelling,

"Whaddya mean you don't know! She's our sister apparently, and she has powers like ours, so why the heck not! She could really help us, Sonic!"

"Sis, quiet down! Saku and Manic are tryin' to catch Z's just a couple of rooms away! "

"R-right, sorry... "

Sonia sighed and calmed down.

"But seriously, why not take Sakura with us? Not only does she have a weapon instrument like us, but she's trained to fight too! "

"Yeah, but look at it, Sis... Sakura's got a home here. She's settled in, has a stable life, doesn't have to face what we do... should we really take her from all of this? "

Sonic said, looking down at the floor. Shadow sighed softly and stood, picking up his coffee cup.

"This may be what the Oracle meant when he said Sakura would have to fight one day, but... I think it would be best if you let her decide what she does. Whether she goes with you or stays here, I'm sure she'll make the right decision. "

Shadow smiled softly, then turning to go to his bedroom.

"It's late. We should all get some rest. I've set up a couple of beds in the attic for you two. Night. "

With the, the red highlighted Hedgehog left the room, Sonic and Sonia left there to think over what they should do.

-

The next morning, Manic awakened to the sounds of yelling and cracking sticks out behind the small house. He sat up and yawned, wondering what was going on as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, getting up and looking out the window to see the cause of the noise.

Outside, Sakura and Shadow where standing on nothing but rows upon rows of small, flat-topped wodden stakes sticking up out of the ground, the two of them holding a bamboo staff a piece and going at one another in a training fight. Manic watched as Shadow skillfully leapt up and started coming down at Sakura with his staff, but Sakura leapt up as well, avoiding the attack and making one of her own as she managed to land a hit on Shadow's shoulder.

The Black Hedgehog grunted with the pain and leapt back, managing to land perfectly atop the flat topped stakes as he bent down, swinging his staff at Sakura's legs as she also landed. The girl wasn't quick enough to evade, and her own legs were swept out from under her. She fell back onto the stakes, taking a few breaths before starting to get up again.

"Come on Sakura, you usually do better than this! Is something on your mind this morning? "

He asked, Sakura shaking her head no as she stood, then wincing and kneeling down, placing a hand on her ankle. Shadow immediately went to her... and Sakura quickly picked up her staff again, swinging it right into Shadow's stomach and knocking him clear off the small field of stakes, Sakura then smirking and standing up. Manic quirked an eyebrow as he watched all of this, thinking that Shadow was gonna chew Sakura out for cheating like that, but Shadow instead smirked and got up, dusting his fur off a bit as he said,

"Nice, Sakura. Using the element of surprise to your advantage like that. "

Sakura smiled and jumped off the stakes and onto the ground.

"Thanks, Dad. Guess you trained me pretty well. "

"Guess I did. Well, let's head in and start breakfast. Your Brothers and Sister should be getting up soon. "

"Right. "

Manic continued watching the two through the window until they were in the back door. He sighed softly, and was starting to wonder himself if he could take Sakura away from her home here in Blackridge.

He went into the bathroom, the thoughts still on his mind as he washed up and put his vest, belt, showes, gloves and spiked wristbands on.

The Green Hedgehog walked into the kitchen afterward, where Sakura was fumbling with quite a few eggs. He couldn't help but chuckle a little bit and went to help her. His sister smiled and said,

"Thanks Manic... so, when're we leaving? "

Manic blinked a time or two at her question and said,

"S-say what? "

"I asked when we're leaving. Now that I know my place, I'm ready to get out there and help you guys whip Robotnik! "

She replied, her Brother scratching his head a bit and asking,

"Well, yeah, we could use the help, but... are you sure you wanna do that? I mean, you have a home and a Dad here... do you really wanna leave all that behind? "

Sakura sighed, setting the eggs down and replying,

"Look, if Robotnik keeps going like he is, sooner or later he'll find Blackridge and it'll be gone, so then what'd be the point of staying here? After Robotnik's gone, I can always come back if I want. It's no big deal. "

Shadow didn't get in on the conversation, but smiled slightly at Sakura's words and how she was handling the situation. He was really going to miss her when she was gone...

It was then that a shadow was suddenly cast into the room through the windows, Shadow immediately looking outside and gasping as he saw a few of Robotnik's fightercraft flying over.

"Oh no... "

He murmured, Sakura trying to get around Shadow to see what was going on outside.

"What? What is it? Dad, move, I wanna see! "

Shadow didn't feel he had time to explain, turning to Sakura and gently grabbing her shoulders as he said,

"Sakura, listen to me... you and Manic go get your Brother and Sister and run, okay? Get out of the village, before it's too late! "

"Huh? But Dad, why? What's going... ? "

That's when Sakura got a glance outside the window at the fighter craft, gasping a bit just before Shadow said,

"No time for questions Sakura, just go! Remember the escape routes I taught you! "

"But what about you? I can't leave without you! "

"I'll be all right Sakura, just go! Hurry! "

Shadow gave her a quick hug, then swiftly grabbing a backpack and heading out the front door. Sakura started to go after him, but Manic grabbed her wrist. The blonde girl turned to him and growled,

"Why're you stopping me? We have to go after him! He might get hurt! "

Manic didn't loosen his grip though as he told her,

"Look, I'm sure he knows what he's doing! Plus, you're part of the Underground now Sakura! If we get caught, then Robotnik's won! I know it's hard, but we can help more if we get away, regroup and attack! "

Sakura was silent a moment, but finally nodded in agreement and said,

"Right... let's go get Sonic and Sonia. "

-

"Those Swatbots that Sakura and I trashed yesterday must've been sending data to the RIA! "

Manic surmised as he and his siblings moved through a narrow, hidden path up the mountain that Sakura had led them up. It was an escape route that Shadow had shown her.

"Yeah, it wasn't hard for Robotnik's flunkies to find the village after that, since we were only half a mile from it... "

Sakura huffed in agreement, taking a glance back at the village and sighing at the sight of Swatbots walking the streets before continuing up the path.

Once high enough to get a good overview of the village, Sonia passed out binoculars to everyone and they looked down, trying to figure out a way to stop the Swatbot wave.

Sonic immediately pointed out the three airships that had by now landed around the village.

"Bet we could take 'em down a few notches if we destroyed those airships there! "

"Wait Sonic, look. "

Sakura pointed down to one of the airships where prisoners were being taken in.

"We'd need to help the prisoners escape first! "

"Sakura's right. We need to tend to the prisoners first, THEN we can deal with the Swatbots! "

Sonia agreed, putting her binoculars away.

"We need a plan for that though. How are we gonna get so many prisoners out quickly enough? "

The four of them stood in silent thought for a moment, Sonic then smirking as an idea came to him...

-

Several Swatbots were carefully guarding each of the three landed airships as prisoners were taken aboard one by one, some prisoners struggling, some unconcious, and some that seemed almost if not already dead. It was a greusome sight indeed. What was worse was that there were roboticizers on board each airship, and thus each prisoner was being moved toward a fate even worse than death.

That's when the sweet melody of a keyboard suddenly started flowing about one airship... as well as a sudden cloud of pink fog to accompany it. The Swatbots started looking around in a confused manner, the pink fog keeping their optical sensors from detecting the blue blue that suddenly went into the airship behind them, then emerged again as quickly as it came. The Swatbots did however hear the sound this blue blur made and turned to the ship, but that's when the hard core riffs of drums along with the meoldius harmony of a recorder flute could be heard, and it was suddenly like both an earthquake AND a tornado hit the Swatbots at once, literally burying them over in the ground before they could react.

"Well, that was pretty easy. "

Sakura smirked as the pink fog finally cleared, she, Manic and Sonia standing there with their instruments as Sonic ran back and forth, in and out of the airship now as he carried out prisoners with his lightning speed.

"Maybe a little TOO easy, but hey, I'm not complaining. "

Manic commented as Sonic finally stopped in front of them. The Blue Hedgehog grinned and said,

"Okay, all the prisoners from this airship are safe in those hidden mountain caverns Saku showed us. Let's head to the next ship and get 'em out before anyone gets roboticized! "

Everyone nodded, Sakura then having a thought and taking a step toward Sonic.

"Sonic, was... was Dad in that airship... ?"

She asked in concern for Shadow, Sonic sighing and shaking his head.

"No, sorry Sis, but I'm sure he's okay. He's probably either hidden somewhere in the village or in one of the other two airships. Don't worry, we'll find him. "

"All right... "

Without another word, the four of them went to the next airship and executed the same plan, and then the next airship. Before long, all the prisoners had been freed, seemingly before any had been roboticized. There was only one drawback...

There was still no sign whatsoever of Shadow.

Needless to say Sakura was feeling a bit panicky and scared by now, but she tried to keep herself together as she glanced back at the village, then to her Brothers and Sister as she said,

"You guys go on ahead... I have one more thing I need to do. "

The triplets looked at each other, then back to Sakura, Sonic stepping forward and asking,

"Sakura, are you gonna go looking for Shadow? "

"Yeah... you guys go on ahead though and help the prisoners. I'll be all right. I just... I just can't leave without Dad. He's done too much for me to just abandon him. I'll be back as soon as I can though, I promise... okay? "

Manic didn't sit well with this idea and grabbed Sakura's wrist.

"There's no way we can let you go back in there, Sis! Look at the place, it's totally up in flames by now! You'd get fried! I know how you feel, but... "

That's when Sonia put a hand on Manic's shoulder and said,

"Let her go, Manic. She has to do what she has to do. "

Manic was hesitant, but finally let go of Sakura's wrist, the human girl then giving each of them a hug.

"Thanks for understanding everyone... I'll be back, I promise. "

With that, Sakura turned on her heels and headed back into the burning village.

-

As one could probably guess, the first place Sakura went was back to her home in the small house where Shadow had raised her. The fire hadn't reached here yet, but the place was trashed. It looked like there had been a pretty rouge fight here.

The hard soles of Sakura's combat boots gave the slightest tap against the polished, wood floor as she walked, her aqua green eyes searching the area thoroughly.

"Dad? "

She called out, not really caring if some Swatbots that had escaped he attack earlier should hear her.

"Dad, are you here? "

No answer. She quickly made her way upstairs, hoping to find maybe some evidence of where Shadow might have gone.

Sakura entered her room, glancing around a bit and seeing her backpack. She picked it up, figuring she may need the contents. It held many if not all essentials, as well as a CD player and an old Game Gear.

She left her own room and went to Shadow's, slowly stepping inside and looking around.

"Wh-why is my heart suddenly pounding... ?"

She asked herself, though not expecting herself to answer as she stepped a bit further into the room, then sitting down on the bed. She was so tired... she just had to rest for a moment.

Still, she couldn't stop her pounding heart for some reason. She wondered if there was an evil force nearby, as Shadow had taught her to sense. She looked around, but saw nothing.

"Maybe... the situation just has me hyped... "

She mumbled, then noticing the orange comforter on the bed where she sat.

"... odd, since when did Dad ever have an orange comforter? "

That's when the comforter suddenly leapt up at her and grabbed her before she could react, pinning her to the floor and changing back into Dingo. Sakura gasped with surprise and struggled under Dingo's weight and strength, but he was just a little too much for her.

"Heh, sorry kiddo, but you ain't goin' nowhere! Y'see, our employer wants you dead, so we're gonna hafta kill you now! "

Sakura snarled in a wolf-like manner, not about to let a big doofus like Dingo get the best of her as she suddenly kicked her foot up right between his legs, her hard combat boot not leaving the best feeling with all the force she had put behind it. Dingo froze for a second, then keeling over off of her and curling up, whining like a puppy with the pain. Sakura sweatdropped and got back up, dusting herself off.

"You must be Dingo... Manic told me about you. "

She said, brushing her hair back.

"Well, sorry I can't stay and kick your tail, but I have to go find my Dad now, so just stay there and outta my way and you don't get hurt. "

"Oh, you won't have to look far for him, my dear. "

The unusual as it is annoying voice of Sleet came from the doorway, the Wolf smirking devilishly as Sakura threw him a glare. Sleet chuckled deviously and said,

"It's true, Dr. Robotnik wants you good and dead, and hat better way to die than at he hands of a loved one? "

"You must be Sleet... "

Sakura growled, her glare becoming icy cold.

"What're you going on about? Where is Dad then if 'I don't have to look far' for him? "

Sleet didn't reply verbally, but simply stepped aside from the doorway. Sakura wondered just what was going on here, pondering Sleet's words and the fact that Robotnik wanted her dead... until the metallic sounds of gears shifting suddenly caught her ears.

Sakura's heart started beating more rapidly as she took a step back, fear rising up from deep within her as the sound got louder, whatever it was getting closer.

That's when Sakura's worst nightmare happened; Through the door, then and there, stepped the roboticized form of none other than Shadow the Hedgehog.

-

_End Chapter 3_

_-_

_Thanks for all the great reviews people. Sorry I was a bit slow getting this chapter out. I've had to work on other stuff. I haven't even started work on chapter 4 yet, to be honest. O-o Meh, anyway, hopefully I'll update soon, but until then, hope you all liked that chapter. n.n_

_All though, as for why I used Shadow in this fanfic... bear with me and pretend he's like, a fatherly-type age. Sonic Underground is in a different Sonic Universe from the Games, so it's like, an alternate Shadow. Yeah. Well, hope you all liked this chapter, so please read and review! n.n_


	4. Destiny's Calling

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 4_

**"Destiny's Calling"**

-

"D-Dad... ?"

Sakura whispered hoarsely through her fear dried throat at the sight of the roboticized Shadow.

The now metallic Hedgehog never said a word, just standing there as Sleet guffawed and told Sakura,

"Sorry, but he's anything but your Father any longer! Shadow, I think you know what to do. "

The mechanized Shadow nodded and suddenly rushed forward at Sakura, takling her so hard that they both went flying out the window, shattering the glass as they did so.

They hit the ground below hard, Shadow on top of Sakura as he held her down. He held up his arm and pointed the blaster that was set into her wrist right at her forehead, ready to fire... but she didn't move, didn't even look scared. The Hedgehog/Robot was a little confused, wondering why she wasn't putting up any fight. Sakura simply looked up into his eyes with her own, aqua green ones, the look in her eyes so sad and painful.

Shadow held his position, but didn't fire, and then asked her,

"Why don't you fight me? You're stronger than this, I am sure. Why is it you do not resist me? "

"Because... "

Sakura began, swallowing hard as a few tears stung her eyes and flowed down her cheeks.

"Even though you're a robot now, you're still my Dad... and I can't bring myself in good conscience to fight and hurt you... so, I give up... I'd much rather die than hurt you, Dad. "

"This... this does not compute... "

Shadow murmured, not understanding why Sakura had such feelings for him. Being in robot form, all his memories were buried deep within the confines of his electronic mind... but as he looked at Sakura, and all the sadness and pain she was in, some of those memories suddenly jumped forward...

Flashback

Shadow remembered silently and swiftly moving through the dark, midnight halls of the palace, the words said to him by the Oracle vivid in his mind.

'For the child's sake, you must must take her under your own wing for now and prepare her for the battles she will have to face when she is finally an adult. She must remain hidden from th dangers that are about to unfold until she can face them herself, and you are the only one who can protect and prepare her. "

The Black Hedgehog was slightly apprehensive of the Oracle's words, but... he figured he'd best do as told. The Oracle hadn't been wrong before, and he had no reason to think that he was wrong now.

He silently and stealthily made his way through the many halls of the palace, until finally coming up on a room with a white-painted, wooden door with gold-plated Cherry Blossom designs etched into it. Shadow nodded to himself.

"The Oracle said her name was Sakura... the name literally means Cherry Blossoms, so I guess this is it. "

He whispered to no one imparticular as he slowly reached forward, silently opening the door without a sound.

He peered into the room through what bit of a crack he'd opened the door thus far, it not being surprising to him that he saw the likes of a small Child's bedroom, neat and clean with a few toys and stuffed animals on the shelves.

Shadow opened the door a bit more to see a fluffy-looking, white bed across the room by a large window that let the moonlight flow in and onto the form of the small child sleeping in the bed. The Black Hedgehog entered the room now, very quietly moving toward the small, female figure as she slept peacefully.

"I hate to have to do this... "

He thought to himself.

"But... if it's really best for her, and keeps her from danger... "

Shadow very gently pulled back the covers from the young blonde's body, then slowly sliding his arms under her and picking her up, trying his best not to wake her.

Sakura was a light sleeper though, stirring a bit before opening her aqua eyes.

"Hmmm... huh? Wh-who're you... ?"

She asked sweetly, Shadow hoping she'd stay silent as he replied,

"Sssshhh, relax... I'm here to help you, okay? You might not realize that now, but you will later, all right? Just trust me... please... "

Sakura tilted her head in curiosity and whispered inquisitively,

"But... you're a stranger... I'm not supposed to go with strangers... "

Shadow sighed and whispered in reply, trying to speak in terms a young one as Sakura would understand,

"My name's Shadow. I know I'm a stranger, and yeah, you shouldn't trust strangers, but just this once, because I'm here to help you. I have to get you out of here, or something bad is going to happen to you. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, understand? "

Sakura was hesitant, but nodded a bit and stayed quiet, Shadow sighing with relief and holding her close to him as he started to quietly leave the palace. Sakura yawned, but tried to make it a quiet yawn as she nuzzled into the white tuft of fur on Shadow's chest and dozed off.

End Flashback

The roboticized Shadow blinked a bit as the flashback ended, shaking his head a bit as he got off of Sakura. The blonde girl tilted her head in confusion and stood up when she was able, watching the robotic Hedgehog's confusion before asking,

"Dad? Wh-what's wrong? Are you okay? "

Shadow shook his head a little more, still seeing a few other memories of raising the girl in the back of his electronic mind and trying to sort them out.

Sleet and Dingo stood in the window above, the Wolf growling and yelling,

"Shadow, you idiot, kill her! She's right there, so shoot her! "

"No... "

Shadow finally mumbled, actually trying to fight the robotic part of his mind now as he glanced to Sakura and said,

"Sakura... run, get out of here... I might not... be able to fight it much longer... "

The blonde girl gasped a bit, standing there in shock a moment before finally managing,

"Dad... even though you're roboticized... you're still in there somewhere... "

The Black Hedgehog nodded, then grunting and falling to his knees, grabbing his head as he yelled,

"Sakura, run, now! "

"But I can't just abandon you! "

She argued, Shadow growling as he looked up at her and said,

"Sakura... don't worry for me, you'll see me again sometime... for now, it's best if you run... go, before Sleet and Dingo come after you... "

"But... Dad... I... "

"For me, Saku... if not for yourself, then for me... run... "

Sakura swallowed hard and nodded, tears pouring down her face now. Even though she could hear Sleet and Dingo coming swiftly down the stairs inside, Sakura took the time to give Shadow one good hug and say,

"Thanks for everything, Dad... I love you... "

With that, Sakura sniffled, turned and ran, disappearing into the nearby mountain foliage just as Sleet and Dingo came out the back door.

"She got away... "

Sleet mumbled, then snarling.

"Doctor Robotnik won't be happy... "

-

"That's it! "

Sonic finally exclaimed as he, Manic and Sonia stood in the hidden cavern with the freed prisoners.

"She's been gone way too long! We gotta go find her and make sure she's all right! "

"I hate to admit it Sonic, but you're right! She might've gotten into trouble! "

Sonia agreed, Manic nodding.

"Yeah, let's go! Sakura might need us! "

None of the three hesitaed in excusing their presence from the freed prisoners in the cavern and immediately leaving, the three of them scattering out in different directions to cover more ground in search of their Sister.

Needless to say that Sonic was zipping around in the usual blue blur of speed in his search... until after a few minutes, he came to a screeching halt upon hearing the muffled sounds of a sobbing female. Sonic was in the woods just a bit from the village now, and followed the crying a bit deeper into the foliage.

He finally came to what sounded like the source of the sad sounds and parted some bushes, sighing with relief when he saw Sakura sitting there on her knees. She didn't seem physically hurt, but the way she was crying, it was evident she had been hurt emotionally in a brutal manner.

Sonic slowly moved forward and put a hand on her shoulder, Sakura jumping a bit in surprise. She sighed when she realized it was Sonic.

"Oh... h-hey Bro... "

She choked through her sobs, Sonic sitting down next to her as he gently rubbed her back in a vain attempt to calm her down.

"Hey, Sis... what's wrong? Did... you find Shadow? "

"Y-yes, but... "

"But... what? Where is he? "

Sakura hesitated, unable to speak for a moment at the mention of Shadow, but finally managed to say,

"H-he's been roboticized... "

"Oh, no... "

Sonic murmured in shock, understanding now why Sakura was crying so badly. He gently hugged her to try and make her feel better, Sakura not hesitating to hug him back as she continued to sob into his chest and told him everything that happened.

Once she had finished her story, Sonic sighed and said,

"Well, maybe there's hope then. If he could find enough of himself to let you get away like that, then maybe we can get him back somehow, okay Sis? "

"Okay... "

Sakura choked out, Sonic then helping her to stand up as he said,

"Come on, we'd best get back to Manic and Sonia. They're pretty worried about you. "

The human girl nodded slowly, her legs shakey under her, but she managed to stay standing with her Brother's help. Sonic helped support her as she walked, the two of them heading off to find Manic and Sonia.

-

"Man, poor Sakura... "

Manic stated as he sat with his Hedgehog siblings in the SU Van now, Sakura peacefully asleep on a futon on the vehicle floor a few feet away. It had been several hours since the girl had been found by Sonic, all the villager's were now safely on their way to other towns, and Sonic had just told them what had happened to Sakura.

Sonic sighed and added,

"I... know how she feels. "

"We all do, Sis. "

Sonic agreed, looking down at the floor.

"Well, at least she still has us... "

Manic said, trying to lighten the mood a bit. Sonic and Sonia smiled slightly and nodded, the pink-haired Hedgehog then adding,

"Yeah, at least there's that. She'll ALWAYS have us. "

The three of them looked over to their adopted Sister as she slept soundly, the slightest smile on her face as she slumbered, occasionally muttering Shadow's name. She was apparently having a good dream.

-

"At least Sakura managed to escape. "

Shadow thought to himself deep within the confines of his mind.

"She's probably safe now with her Brothers and Sister. "

The Black Hedgehog would have sighed softly if he'd had control of his now robotic body. Shadow found he could now think freely now that his memories had been pulled forth, but he couldn't control his actions. His body was still a metallic slave to Dr. Robotnik.

Shadow did however find comfort in the fact that his daughter was now safe as he stood in his holding vessel; holding vessels were where Robotnik kept his robots when they had no work to do, or were damaged and awaiting repairs. It was time where Shadow could think, and view all his fond memories of raising his adopted, human daughter; a small escape from the evils that surrounded him.

That's when he suddenly heard the door of his holding vessel click open. He turned on his electronic eyes and looked to the white cloaked, feminine figure before him. His metal body's first reaction was to destroy anything that wasn't identified as an ally in the electronic part of his mind, but before he could do so, the cloaked woman slipped some sort of a microchip behind his ear.

Shadow's robot body was frozen for a moment, before he suddenly found himself having control over his actions again. He would blink if his electronic eyes'd had eyelids as he looked at his hands, moving them a bit to make sure it was really he himself who was moving them again.

He looked to the woman who had helped him, seeing her smile at him from under her hood.

"Th-thank you, but... who are you? "

He asked, the figure then glancing around to make sure no one was watching, then removing her hood... Shadow was in shock.

"Qu-queen Aleena... ?"

The Black Hedgehog whispered through his shock as his eyes examined the countenance of Queen Aleena.

The Queen nodded, it taking a moment for Shadow to get his bearings before he suddenly fell to his hands and knees before her in respect. Aleena shook her head and placed her finger under Shadow's cold, metal chin, lifting it up until she was looking into his eyes.

"No need for formalities such as that, especially now. We must leave at once. "

"But... why are you helping me like this? "

Shadow asked, Aleena then helping him up as she replied,

"Your services may be required for one, and... think of it as a thank you for looking after my daughter for another. "

The Black Hedgehog's eyes would have widened had he been able to do so with their metallic roundings, but they did brighten a bit in the surprise that Aleena had found out about Shadow's taking Sakura. Fortunately, she didn't seem to mind, and in the fac seemed grateful he had done it. Apparently, in realizing what Shadow had done, she had also realized the reason behind it.

"You did tell Sakura she would see you again, right? "

The Queen asked, the Black Hedgehog nodding slowly before getting the reply,

"All right then, let us be sure that happens. "

-

_End Chapter 4_

_-_

_Yes, finally another chapter ish done! I hope you all like it. It wasn't as good as I intended for it to be, I think, but mah well. I tried. Now cometh the hard part; how to get to the ending I want. XD! Anyway, thanks for the reviews I have gotten so far, and I hope I get reviews here and now too. Thankies so much, and ejoy! Until next update, then! _


	5. Nightmare

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 5_

**"Nightmare"**

-

It had been 3 weeks since the attack on Blackridge Village, and Sakura had hardly slept since. Nightmares of seeing a roboticized Shadow kept invading her dreams, causing her to wake with a start several times every single night. The girl had tried to get over what had happened, her Brothers and Sister constantly trying to cheer her up and help her move on, but it seemed impossible. Sakura just refused to forget the Black Hedgehog who had raised her.

Sakura tried to manage herself a nap as the Sonic Underground Van moved smoothly along a long, straight road in the middle of nowhere, but once again she woke screaming. Sonic all but let go of the wheel when he heard his human Sister's shriek, Manic and Sonia immediately dropping whatever they were doing and going to her.

"Sakura, are you okay? "

Manic asked, putting a hand on her shoulder as Sonia rubbed the back of her hand. Sakura swallowed hard and managed a nod, her throat too weak from her scream to speak just yet.

Sonia sighed and said,

"No, you're not okay, Sakura. Look, I know it was bad, but you have to get over it! The more you grieve over this, the more of these nightmares you're gonna have! "

"I know, I just... "

Sakura's voice was scratchy, her words catching in her throat. She sighed and shook her head before managing to speak again.

"I'm sorry, it's just so hard to believe what happened actually happened... I was so close to him... "

"We know Saku, we know. "

Manic told her, gently patting her back. Sonia then gently laid her back and pulled her covers over her.

"Try to go back to sleep. You need rest... "

The pink-haired Hedgie told her.

"And try to think some happy thoughts. "

"Right... "

Sakura mumbled, yawning as she closed her aqua green eyes, and soon fell back to sleep.

-

"Perfect... "

Robotnik prided himself as he stood in one his lab in the heart of Robotropolis, looking upon the dark figure before him of an unusual robot. It was made of an odd, light green metal with dark, blackish-blue markings covering it. The robot was bipedal, and very strong looking. It seemed to have 4 long, thin but strong, blackish-blue titanium whips for arms, and simply one eye. The eye was very strange, looking more concave than convex, and seemingly one large swirl of many colours. It was a very odd robot indeed. Just being around it could give fearful chills for some reason.

Behind Robotnik, Sleet and Dingo looked to one another confusedly. Just what was this robot supposed to do? Sleet finally took a step forward and said,

"Yes, very impressive Dr. Robotnik Sir, but... might I ask just what this robot is supposed to do? "

The rotund Doctor gave a slight smirk, making his paint brush-like mustache quirk slightly before he turned to Sleet and replied,

"This, my henchmen, is Nightmare, also known as the executioner of the Sonic Underground. "

Dingo's ears twitched a bit at Robotnik's words, the orange creature glancing back to Nightmare.

"Okay, it's name is nightmare... but that doesn't explain what it does. "

Robotnik chortled a little before replying,

"You'll find out soon enough. For now, I need you two to flush out the Sonic Underground for me. "

"Yes, of course, Dr. Robotnik. "

Sleet agreed.

"And then Nightmare will come in and kill them all? "

"Not just yet. There's something else I'll need first. "

Robotnik walked to a nearby table and picked up a few, small microchips, bringing them back over to Sleet.

"Once the Hedgehogs and the Human Girl are flushed out, place one of these on all of them. "

"Yes, yes, then what? "

Robotnik's smirk turned into an evil grin.

"Then the Nightmare begins. "

-

Sakura followed her adoptive siblings in a slightly sluggish manner as they walked through another city. There had been reports of robots causing trouble here, more then likely Robotnik's robots, so the Underground was there to check things out.

Sonic glanced back at Sakura over his shoulder and asked,

"You okay back there, Sis? "

"Huh? Yeah, just still a little sleepy from my nap. "

She told him, smiling just slightly as she walked. She then blinked and stopped, looking around. The three Hedgehogs stopped as well, wondering why Sakura had paused there.

"What's up, Sis? "

Manic asked, Sakura looking back to him as she replied,

"I sense some very evil presences here, and a good many of them. All but two feel inorganic. "

"You can tell all that... ?"

Manic asked with a confused look on his face. It was still just a little beyond them just how well Shadow had trained Sakura in the past.

Sonic huffed slightly and said,

"Probably a load of Swatbots... "

"And Sleet and Dingo to boot... "

Sonia added, Sakura then glancing around a bit before saying,

"Feels like they're mostly over toward the left of us. "

"All right then, time to kick some Swat-Butt! "

Sonic smirked just before an explosion rocked the area nearby, and out of the smoke walked a small army of Swatbots. None of the siblings hesitated to call their instruments and fight back, Sonia causing a fog to confuse them as Sonic blasted them with his guitar, Sakura and Manic only causing more confusion to the mix as they hit hard with whirlwinds and earthquakes.

In amongst all this though, Sakura was too into causing whirlwinds with her flute to sense that Sleet and Dingo had moved around behind them, the Wolf hitting the remote and turning his orange sidekick into a small fly, then giving him the microchips.

"There, now put a chip on each one of them without their noticing! "

Sleet ordered, Dingo a little hesitant.

"But Sleet, what is they see me? All they'll have to do is swat me and I'll go splat! "

"Then don't be seen! "

Sleet snarled, Dingo then hesitantly flying from their hiding place behind the building and toward the four siblings, quickly and unnoticeably placing the chip on each one of them. Needless to say, Dingo wasn't hesitant to fly away from them, fearful of being seen and swatted like the bug he now was.

Once Dingo was out of sight, he and Sleet immediately left. It wasn't but moments later that all the Swatbots had been demolished, the three Hedgies and the human girl calling their instruments back into their medallions.

"Well, that was easy enough! "

Sonic exclaimed, Sakura then crossing her arms, much like Shadow did.

"TOO easy in my opinion... "

She said, Manic nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I mean they hardly put up a fight! They usually rumble at least a LITTLE harder! "

"And where're Sleet and Dingo? Sakura definitely sensed them, seeing as they're Robotnik's ONLY organic henchmen... "

Sonia added, also feeling something was fishy here.

"Well then, let's see if we can find them. The 'bots might've been a distraction so Sleet and Dingo could've pulled something. "

Everyone nodded and spread out to try and find Robotnik's two henchmen, but they were already long gone. They had already done their dirty deed. Eventually, the Sonic Underground decided to call it a day after scouring the city with no sign of Sleet or Dingo, and checked into a local Inn.

-

Later that night, as the moon hung full high in the sky, Sakura and Sonia were stuck with re-supply duty as they walked the city streets, going in and out of several small stores to get the things they, Sonic and Manic needed, like food and other essentials.

It didn't take Sonia long to note that Sakura wasn't as open to her as she was to Sonic and Manic. Sonia supposed that Sakura wasn't used to being around another girl, as most of the people in her age range back in Blackridge had been male. The pink-haired Hedgie didn't give up though, and tried to get Sakura talking some. The blonde just didn't seem in the mood though.

"Oh, come on Sakura, talk to me! Don't you have a favourite perfume or enjoy makeovers or anything? "

She asked, Sakura quirking an eyebrow before replying,

"Perfume? Makeovers? Guh, that's fine if you like 'em, but keep 'em AWAY from me... perfumes are expensive and the smell chokes me like smoke... and makeovers and I don't mix. It's not like you REALLY look any prettier after a makeover... I'd rather spend my time honing my battle skills and doing more useful things. "

Sonia sighed exasperatedly. Sakura was apparently a real tomboy, and wasn't budging from it.

That's when Sakura suddenly stopped, sensing a presence coming in fast. She opened her mouth to warn Sonia, but was cut off as Nightmare suddenly leapt at them from the nearby alleyway. Both girls let out a surprised yelp and quickly moved aside to evade the new robot's attack.

The robot landed on the ground with such a force that the concrete beneath their feet shook like an earthquake, Sakura and Sonia falling to the ground and having the wind knocked out of them, rendering them temporarily helpless.

Nightmare turned to the bewildered Sonia first, picking her up with one of it's long tendrils. Sonia groaned slightly and tried to get her bearings, the colours in the robot's eyes swirling a bit as it seemed to look over her in analyzation. The microchip that Dingo had placed on her earlier made a high-pitched beeping sound, Sonia suddenly feeling like her very thoughts were invaded somehow. She felt violated suddenly, wondering what was happening, and why she felt like someone was opening her subconscious thoughts like her diary.

Nightmare then put her down for no apparent reason.

"Fear Factor data has been copied. "

It said, the Hedgehog blinking as she got her bearings now. She shook her head a bit and got into a fighting position, about to drop kick the thing. That's when Nightmare's cycloptic eye suddenly started swirling around at high speed, Sonia blinking as she suddenly felt hypnotized by it, and she froze.

Everything then went black around her, as though the whole world had faded out. She wasn't sure what to think or do, trying to figure out what was going on.

Then, it was as if many colours of paint was suddenly poured into her dark world, the paint moving about as if it had a mind of it's own and taking form; the form of the palace in Mobodoon, but in shambles and ruin. Sonia felt scared now, her mind racing with millions of thoughts...

Her thoughts were interrupted by a blood curdling scream, made by a familiar voice. Sonia let out a gasp.

"Mother!"

She yelled, quickly taking to her feet and following the sound of the screams.

Sonia soon came to stop in the main ballroom, where Aleena lay motionless and badly beaten on the floor. The pink haired Hedgehog was almost afraid to go to check on her Mother, fearing the worst, but she soon forced herself forward and knelt down by her.

She slowly started to put a hand forward to check her pulse, but stopped as an evil laugh filled the air. Sonia knew that laugh...

"Dr. Robotnik... "

She whispered to herself, the evil doctor himself then stepping from the shadows of a nearby archway, to Sonia's horror holding the lifeless and badly wounded bodies of Sonic and Manic by the napes of their necks.

Sonia was in total shock. In just a few horror filled moment, her entire family was gone all but herself. Robotnik just stood there and grinned evilly at her as she broke down in tears.

-

Sakura finally came to in the meantime, letting out a groan and rubbing her aching, blonde head.

"Whoa... what the heck was that?"

She asked no one imparticular, then noticing Sonia on the ground nearby. Sakura was shocked when she saw Sonia tossing, turning, convulsing, screaming and crying there on the ground, as though in some horrible nightmare that she couldn't wake up from.

"Sonia!"

Sakura immediately ran to her sister and tried futilely to wake her, but Sonia remained in her deep, nightmarish sleep.

The human girl wondered what was wrong with Sonia, then remembering the robot from earlier. Sakura immediately stood and looked to the robot, who was just standing there calmly now. She snarled.

"What'd you do to her! "

She demanded, the robot then answering as it shot one of it's tendrils at her. Sakura barely dodged, grabbing the tendril with lightning fast reflexes and trying to pull Nightmare down. The robot held it's ground though, it's robotic feet made well for stability as it suddenly pulled back on the tendril, and Sakura with it.

Sakura was pulled hard against Nightmare's metallic armour, but she managed to hold herself together and leapt up, aiming a punch at Nightmare's eye. The robot had expected such a move though, and with reflexes equal in speed to Sakura's, it reached up a tendril and wrapped it around her before her fist made contact, holding her fast.

The girl struggled hard, but the tendril held her harder. She let out a loud and shrill scream, hoping Sonic and Manic would hear her as she suddenly felt her own thoughts being intruded on like Sonia's had been, and gain Nightmare's swirling eye hypnotized her.

It was then that Sakura suddenly felt comforted for some reason, but with no idea what that reason was. She closed her eyes and shook her head to try and clear her thoughts, but that didn't help.

She opened her eyes again to find herself laying in a soft, warm and familiar bed. She blinked and sat up, looking around.

"My room... ?"

She asked no one imparticular.

"I'm... back home? But... how can this be? Something's not right... "

That's when she heard a tap on her door, Sakura jumping a bit in surprise. The door opened, and a non-roboticized Shadow walked in. Sakura felt herself lose her breath, watching as Shadow walked closer to where she lay in bed.

"Sakura, are you all right? I heard you scream. Did you have a nightmare? "

He asked, Sakura starting to wonder if maybe it had all been a nightmare... Robotnik's attack on Blackridge, Shadow's roboticization... maybe all that HAD just been a nightmare.

Sakura sniffled slightly and suddenly hugged Shadow tight, crying into his soft, black fur as she said,

"Oh, Dad, it was a nightmare! I dreamed Robotnik attacked Blackridge... and you were roboticized and... and... "

Shadow gently hugged her back, stroking her blonde hair as he said,

"Sssshhhh, don't worry, Sakura. It was just a dream... "

Sakura felt herself start calming down and nodded, relaxing against Shadow's soft fur and sighing contentedly.

Then, Shadow's fur suddenly started turning hard and cold, like metal. His grip on her suddenly became harsh and threatening as his fingers suddenly turned into metallic claws, digging into her skin painfully. Sakura let out a yell of pain, but didn't try to push herself away from Shadow.

She cringed and looked up to his face, seeing he was roboticized again, but this time she saw no feelings or soul in his eyes whatsoever. All she saw in his eyes were the instincts of a cold blooded killer...

And she was the victim.

-

**End Chapter 5**

-

_**Y'know, this was originally meant to be a one-chapter part of the story, but I think this is gonna take 2 chapters. Sorry it took me so long to put out. Hope you all enjoyed it and that you'll read and review. Thanks so much for the good reviews I've already gotten! n.n**_


	6. Waking Dream

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 6_

**"Waking Dream"**

-

"Did you hear something, Bro... ?"

Manic asked his blue brother as they sat in their room at the Inn, Sonic sprawled out on the bed playing Sakura's Game Gear while she wasn't around to catch him.

Sonic couldn't hear much, having the G.G.'s peripheral headphones in his ears, but he did blinks and pause the game, pulling one of the headphones away as he said,

"You say something, Manic? "

Manic huffed slightly and said,

"I asked if you heard something! I thought I heard someone screaming just now! "

Sonic sweatdropped and turned off the game, dropping it on the bed as he sprang to his red sneakered feet. Ecco the Dolphin would have to wait...

"We should go check it out, in case someone's in trouble! "

"Sounds good to me! "

Manic agreed as the two immediately headed out the door, hoping they weren't too late to help whomever might be in trouble.

-

The two Hedgehogs eventually came up on a dark street, seeing two people laying on the ground; writhing, convulsing and moaning. Sonic and Manic didn't hesitate to go to these two figures on the ground, the blue Hedgehog gently brushing some stray, sweat soaked strands of pink hair from the face of the one he'd stopped next to. He was too shocked to react for a second.

"Sonia... ?"

He finally managed to whisper, his adrenaline then pumping through him like mad as he gently shook her.

"Sonia, wake up! What's wrong with you? Manic, there's something wrong with Sonia! "

"There's something wrong with Saku, too! "

Manic called back to his brother as he tried to calm the more or less convulsing Sakura in his arms.

"Something REAL bad happened to them! We gotta find 'em a doctor! "

"Right, come on! "

Sonic yelled in fear, gently picking up his ailed sister.

That's when the ground suddenly quaked, both Hedgehogs being knocked off their feet as Nightmare once more made an appearance. Sonic and Manic slowly started to get up, wondering just what this robot was and if it was the one who had suddenly put their sisters in their current state.

Before the two had fully managed to get up, Nightmare shot it's tendrils forward at the off-balance Manic, wrapping him tightly before he could resist and pulling him up.

"Manic! "

Sonic yelled, almost fully standing, but he couldn't get any further. In the fall, his ankle had been sprained, and putting much more pressure on said ankle would just cause him to fall again.

"Stop it! Leave him alone! "

The Blue Hedgehog yelled as Nightmare tightened it's grip on Manic. The Green Hedgehog gasped futilely for breath.

Sonic was at wit's end, hardly able to move with his sprained ankle as he looked on helplessly, then blinking as he saw the tiniest red light flash somewhere within Manic's unruly green quills. Along with the flash, there was a high pitched, electronic beep. Nightmare would have grinned had it had a mouth.

"Fear Factor Data... has been copied. "

With that, it's eye of many colours started to swirl, Manic trying to close his eyes to it, but he felt... mesmerized and compelled to watch it.

"Manic, no, don't look into it! "

Sonic yelled, in his mind realizing that this robot must have somehow hypnotized his sisters into their convulsions, or whatever it was they were going through.

The Blue Hedgehog looked around frantically, trying to think of something... he then noticed a somewhat large and loose piece of concrete on the sidewalk nearby. He didn't hesitate to pick it up, chucking it straight at Nightmare's swirling eye.

The robot was too focused on sending Manic into his worst nightmare to notice the piece of cement flying at it until it made contact, shattering the glass eye into about a million pieces.

Nightmare promptly dropped Manic, futilely lashing out with it's tendrils in 'pain' as many colours of liquids poured out from the hole where it's eye once was and onto the street, looking like someone had opened many, many colours of paint and poured a little of each onto the road.

Sonic limped over to his brother, said green Hedgehog shaking his head a little to regain his bearings.

"You okay, Bro? "

Sonic asked Manic as he helped him up, the green Hedgie nodding a little as he replied,

"Yeah, I'm okay... just a little off kilter... and my head feels... strangely hyper... "

Manic shook his head again, then blinking as he suddenly thought he saw one of Nightmare's tendrils make a swing at them. He yelped and closed his eyes, waiting for the pain... but felt none. He sweatdropped and opened his eyes... were his eyes playing tricks on him?

"Manic, are you sure you're okay? "

Sonic asked, thinking Manic was in pain after being dropped. The Green Hedgehog nodded a little.

"Yeah, fine, just thought I saw something, I... watch it! "

Manic suddenly tackled Sonic as one of Nightmares long tendrils suddenly crashed into the pavement, righ where they had been standing... right where Manic thought he'd seen it coming a few moments before...

"Whoa... that was close... thanks, Bro. "

Sonic murmured, Manic nodding a little as he watched Nightmare continue it's blind thrashing. It needed to be stopped, before someone was hurt...

That's when a dark figure suddenly streaked through what little moonlight flowed in past the tall buildings, the figure going at such a high speed it went right through Nightmare like a hot knife through butter. Sonic and Manic stood there in amazement, wondering what the heck that was as Nightmare fell over lifeless.

The dark streak stopped nearby, allowing them to see it's true form now. Sonic and Manic nearly gasped.

"Sh-Shadow... ?"

Manic managed to say as he and his brother looked on at the roboticized Hedgehog, who nodded at them before walking silently over to Sakura and Sonia, his stride not that of a robot now, but more like the stride he had before his roboticization.

He knelt down next to Sakura, and not too far away, the familiar cloaked form of Aleena could be seen making it's way to Sonia from the shadows of an alley, the Queen kneeling down next to her unconcious daughter.

"M-mother! "

Sonic yelled in surprise, Aleena glancing at Sonic and Manic with a fond smile, then gently reaching behind Sonia's ear and pulling off a tiny microchip; the same microchip that Dingo had unknowingly placed on them earlier. Shadow did the same, taking one from Sakura's long, blonde locks of hair. Neither of them hesitated to crush the chips between their fingers, then immediately standing and taking off in seperate directions.

"Mom, wait! " Manic called out, going after Aleena quickly, but once he was in the alley she'd ducked into, she was gone. He sighed exasperatedly.

Sakura groaned slightly as she started to come around now that the chip had been removed, her aqua green eyes shimmering a bit as she woke from her nightmare. She slowly started to sit up, looking to the side in time to see Shadow running away. She gasped, immediately standing and going after him.

"Dad, wait! "

She called out, Manic starting to follow her, but Sonic said,

"Let her go, Manic... we should help Sonia. "

He said as he limped over to his waking sister, who soon hugged Sonic and Manic with joyful tears that their deaths had been only a bad nightmare.

Sakura in the meantime found herself following Shadow as quickly as her feet would take her through the alleys an streets, barely able to see for lack of light, but she didn't let that stop her.

She turned a corner in time to see Shadow going up a fire escape ladder alongside a building, Sakura having no hesitance in following him, climbing the rungs as quickly as possible.

Once at the top, she breathed heavily, looking around and finding the rooftop empty. She sighed sadly, wondering why Shadow was running from her...

That's when she heard the slightest clank of metal and turned, seeing Shadow atop a nearby, but much higher building, bathed brightly in the moonlight. Sakura smiled as she looked up at him.

"Dad, there you are! Wh-why were you running from me... ?"

Shadow glanced down to the daughter he'd adopted so long ago, managing to smile a bit as he said,

"Sakura, take care of yourself, all right? We'll see each other another day... "

Shadow then turned and dashed off, Sakura starting to follow him, but she realized that even she couldn't jump rooftops like THAT, and then sighed, sitting down there and just watching the black and red Hedgehog fade into the moonlit distance of rooftops.

-

Later that night, after Sakura had rejoined her brothers and sister, the four went back to their room at the Inn and fell straight asleep. They all slumbered peacefully, feeling comforted and as if someone was watching over them; protecting them...

Little did any of them realize that not far away, on a nearby rooftop stood the forms of Shadow and Queen Aleena, the two looking upon the four children through the Inn window from where they stood.

"They all look so peaceful when they're having good dreams like that. "

Shadow said, looking over to Aleena. The Queen nodded and glanced to Shadow as well.

"Yes. It's good to know they are safe again... I only wish that I could be closer to them. "

"I want to be closer to my daughter as well. I think for now though, she'll feel better knowing that I'm close. "

"Yes... "

Aleena agreed, sighing softly and gazing up at the full moon above, Shadow soon following her gaze. The two stared up at the orb that lit the night for a long time, before Shadow finally reached over and ever so gently took Aleena's hand...

-

"... where the heck am I... ?"

Manic wondered aloud as he walked along in a strange, dark void. He had no idea how we'd gotten here, let alone how to get out. He was getting a little bit scared...

That's when he saw someone standing in the distance, their body slightly illuminating in the pure darkness of the void. Manic didn't hesitate to start running forward, toward this person in hopes of getting some help, or at least not being alone.

When he got close, he could tell that the person he was running to was Sakura. He smiled gladly at the fact it was someone he knew.

He reached out a hand to touch her, but as he did so, Sakura suddenly lurched, like she'd been hit with something. Her eyes widened in a deadly silence.

"S-Sakura... ?"

Manic whispered, his heart starting to race in his chest as he wondered what was wrong. His eyes then widened as he saw her grey shirt become stained with blood, Sakura then falling over lifeless. Just like that, she was dead.

"Sakura, no! "

Manic yelled, kneeling down next to her, but it was too late.

The green Hedgie was mortified, and feeling totally helpless as his sister laid there in still death. Then...

"Manic... "

Manic's ears twitched in surprise as he heard the feminine voice call his name. He quickly turned, seeing his Mother standing there. He was too shocked to speak, too many millions of thoughts running through his head at once for him to even think straight.

Aleena walked toward him slowly, her eyes in shadow from the hood she wore. She was silent for a long moment as she seemed to watch Manic's tears flow like tiny rivers down his face in sorrow for the sister he had so little time with before she was gone. The silence was finally broken as the Queen said,

"Manic, you can prevent this from happening... "

Manic blinked, about to ask his Mother what she was talking about, but he was cut off as a bright light suddenly blinded him, and he found himself sitting straight up in bed.

He sat there for a few minutes, the only noise being the sound of his heavy breathing, his body drenched in sweat as tears wetted his face.

He wondered... was it a dream? ... or something else?

-

**End Chapter 6**

**-**

Well, how'd you people like that chapter? I know, you probably expected a lot more, but meh, I tried... hopefully, next chapter will be better. Anywayz, thanks for the reviews so far people, and please keep reviewing! n.n


	7. Devil in Disguise

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 7_

**"Devil In Disguise"**

-

"So, you dreamed Sakura was killed... ?"

Sonia asked her brother Manic as they sat in the back of the Van, Sonic driving along a dirt road through some forests as Sakura sat in one of the passenger's seats, completely oblivious to what was going on around her as she futilely tried to master Tails' Sky Patrol on her Game Gear.

( A/N: I figure, since Tails was never in SU, it might be fun if in the SU world, he was the one with the uber cool line of video games. XD! )

"Yeah, that's right. It was like Mom was warning me about it... "

Manic told his sister, not bothering to lower his voice so Sakura wouldn't hear. He felt he didn't need to, since her engrossment in her game and her grumbles and gripes about the difficulty of said game kept her from acknowledging much of anything around her at the moment.

"And I keep having that same nightmare over and over again... last night, I couldn't even sleep!"

Sonia thought about this a moment, blinking as the gears in her head turned.

"You think it might've been something Nightmare did? Sonic said Nightmare almost had you hypnotized! "

"Maybe... "

The Green Hedgehog said, sighing and leaning back in his chair softly, pondering deeply. Sonia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Maybe if you get your mind off of it, you won't have that nightmare again. "

"I tried, Sis! As soon as my head hits the pillow, the nightmare happens! "

The pink-quilled Hedgehog huffed slightly in frustration.

"Well, there must be something we can do! "

"I dunno Sis... I really don't know. "

Manic said, glancing out the window of the Van in thought.

-

Later that evening, after the siblings had stopped off in a small town to check the area for any possible Robotnik activity, Manic felt he needed to be alone a while in order to try and think things through.

He made his way through the town, not even thinking of stealing any of the things the street markets had to offer for once, until he finally made it to the outskirts of the city, where there was a tall cliff he could see all the forest below from. He took his seat on the edge of this cliff and rested his chin in his hands, mulling over his dreadful nightmare again and trying to figure out some way to stop it, or if it was indeed some kind of warning from his Mother, do something to prevent his adopted sister's death.Manic sat there for a good three hours, dusk and soon night falling on the area.

It was then that his deep thoughts were suddenly broken by a sound; the blood curdling screams of a woman.

Manic immediately leapt to his feet, rushing toward the source of the sound without hesitance. The sound was coming from somewhere in the nearby town.

He followed the sound into a dark alley, where a fox girl with pink fur and crystal blue eyes had been captured by a couple of swatbots. She struggled against their grip, but their strength was just too much for her to even have a hope against. She let out a shrill scream, hoping someone would hear her.

Manic immediately went into action, leaping onto the swatbot on the right and reaching into the small open space on the back of it's 'neck', which was open so head-tilting and turning could be possible. Manic reached in, pulling out a few wires and quickly jumping back off as the swatbot fell lifeless.

He then quickly turned to the other swatbot, which was about to make off with the fox girl helplessly in it's grasp. Manic made no hesitation in leaping up onto the swatbot's head and rapping on it with his drumsticks, the vibration dislodging some of the intricate electronics and causing it to automatically shut down.

The swatbot started to fall over, Manic promptly leaping from it's head and grabbing the pink fox girl from it's grasp before she fell with it. The fox girl's sleeveless, black shirt flapped around her with the motion, and she had to hold down her ruffled, red skirt to keep from being exposed.

"You okay?"

Manic asked as he set the fox girl back on her feet, her black leather spaghetti strap sandals making the slightest tap when they met the paved ground. She lifted her crystal blue eyes to look right into his and whispered.

"Y-you saved me... "

Manic nodded a little, the fox girl silent for a moment before suddenly fainting. The green Hedgehog quickly reached forward, catching her before she fell over.

"Man, poor girl... "

He mumbled.

"Come on, you can stay with me and my sibs tonight."

-

The pink fox girl mumbled something incoherently as she came to, opening her crystal blue eyes just a crack, her vision fuzzy at first, but soon clearing enough for her to see Manic sitting at her bedside, gently patting down her forehead with a cool cloth.

"Hey there, how ya feelin'?"

Manic asked her with a warm smile when he saw she was awake. The pink fox girl smiled back softly and sat up as she replied,

"I feel better, thanks... um... "

"Manic. And your name.. ?"

"Vanilla... "

"Vanilla... cute name. So, why were those swatbots after you? "

"I was helping a few rebels get out of town before the swatbots got them... the rebels got away, but the swatbots got me on the way back... "

"Man, that's rough... well, you're safe now. Where do you live? We'll take you back home to your folks. "

Vanilla's crystal blue eyes turned downward, staring at her hands as they were clasped in her lap.

"I don't have folks anymore... "

She replied, swallowing hard.

"Robotnik's swatbots took them from me. They're probably mindless, robotic minions of his by now... "

She sniffled, Manic ever so gently reaching over to her and pulling her into a reassuring embracement.

"Man, I'm so sorry about that, Vanilla... "

He said, gently patting her back.

Sonic, Sonia and Sakura stood off in the corner, watching the whole thing. The three looked to one another, the blue Brother of the bunch then speaking,

"Well, we should probably take her with us if she doesn't have any folks to go home to then. "

He whispered, his pink-quilled Sister then huffing slightly as she retorted,

"Oh, and get her caught up in our own squabbles with Robotnik? She'd be in even worse trouble! "

The blonde, human sister of the group turned her aqua green eyes to Sonia and replied,

"But if she just went home, by herself mind you, then Robotnik's Swatbots would just go right back after her since she had no one protecting her. She's safer with us, Sis. "

Sonia was silent a moment before realizing Sakura was right, the femme Hedgehog nodding a little in agreement. Sonic looked up to the two of them and said,

"Then it's settled. We've got no choice. Vanilla comes with us. "

"What about Robotnik, though? He's still got his 'Bots in this village for one reason or another, and I've got a hairy feeling in my gut that Sleet and Dingo aren't far behind. "

Sakura said, her adoptive Sister leaning against the wall before replying,

"We need to find out WHY he has Swatbots here, first off. The town isn't under his control, and there weren't enough Swatbots for taking control. He wouldn't send out so few Swatbots to stop a small group of rebels, so I'm guessing he was a little surprised when he found out rebels were here and just sent in what he had. "

"You're right, Sis. Robotnik was after something specific in this town... "

Sonic agreed, walking over to Vanilla, who had by now calmed down with Manic's comforting.

"Vanilla, do you have any idea why those Swatbots were in town? Got any clue what they might've been after?"

The pink Fox girl shook her head no.

"No... I don't. But you're probably right. He probably was after a certain thing... "

She replied, pulling her covers up around her snugly. Sakura glanced out the window, then taking her camouflage coat and putting it on over her sleeveless grey shirt as she said,

"You guys look after her. I'm gonna go out and do some searching."

"Sakura, not by yourself... "

Sonia argued, but Sakura didn't stay long enough to hear her, already out the door of the Van.

-

By later that night, Sakura had returned defeatedly without finding anything. Everyone had decided to go to bed, thinking it'd be best if they got a fresh start in the morning.

About the middle of the night though, Sakura's inner sense started going off. She sat up from her futon on the floor just in time to see Vanilla ever so silently stepping out the door of the van. The blonde didn't hesitate to follow her in equal silence and stealth, and soon tailed the fox girl behind a building at the edge of the town. Sakura stayed around the corner, so as not to be seen, but watched and listened carefully.

Vanilla glanced around, as though making sure no one was watching her, then opening up a communicator that was cleverly hidden in a secret compartment in her ruby-coloured bangle bracelet.

"Dr. Robotnik, this is Vanilla reporting. Come in."

The pink Fox girl said, much to Sakura's shock. A hologrphic image formed itself from the communicator, poising the image of Dr. Robotnik himself.

"This is Dr. Robotnik."

The round professor said.

"Your report is early, Vanilla. I like that. I can already tell you're far more capable than those dingle dorks Sleet and Dingo. So, have you infiltrated yet?"

"Yes. So far, they all think I'm just some hurt and helpless girl. They really have no idea... the only one I worry about is the human girl, the one you call Sakura. She gives me looks like she doesn't trust me."

"Sakura has a strong inner sense. She can usually tell when one lies or speaks the truth. That's all right though. If we can get the Hedgehogs, then she will automatically fall into place. Begin execution of the next part of the plan in the morning, Vanilla."

"As you wish, Dr. Robotnik."

She said, closing her bracelet comminucator off and putting it away inconspicuously. Sakura didn't hesitate to dash off back toward the van to warn the others.

The girl ran as quickly and swiftly as she could toward the van, using the lessons Shadow had taught her in her youth to move even faster by use of the technique of moving her own body weight forward to pull herself forward even faster.

Sakura burst into the van quickly, taking a couple of breaths before yelling,

"You guys, wake up! Vanilla's working for Robotnik!"

There were some slight grunts in the darkness, and the light wasthen turned on by Sonia. Sakura's jaw dropped as she saw that Vanilla was already back and in bed. Manic had let Vanilla use his bed while he'd been sleeping in a futon next to Sakura's.

The pink Fox girl twitched her ears, making a good act of surprise as she said,

"Say what?"

Sonic, Manic and Sonia all looked at one another, then back to Sakura. The blue Brother of the bunch spoke,

"Vanilla working for Robotnik? Sakura, she's been here asleep the whole time... are you feeling okay?"

Needless to say, Sakura was shocked. How had Vanilla gotten back here before she could? The girl shook her head, making her long blonde hair sway a bit as she said,

"No, no, I just saw Vanilla at the edge of town! She was talking to Robotnik on a communicator! I dunno how she got back before me, but... but look at this! "

Sakura reached forward and grabbed Vanilla's wrist in a rough manner, causing said Fox to yelp in surprise as the bracelet was yanked off of her wrist.

"She has a communicator hidden in here! Look!"

The blonde went to open the secret compartment, only to find that she couldn't find it. She was stunned for a second, then growled.

"I... I know it's on here somewhere!"

She yelled looking over the bracelet frantically for the compartment door. After a few minutes of futile searching, Sonic took the bracelet from her.

"Sakura, knock it off. You just had a freaky nightmare or something. "

He told her, giving Vanilla back her bracelet. Sakura blinked a time or two, then growled again out of frustration.

"I know what I saw! It happened! She was talking to Robotnik! She's just here to lead us into a trap! It's a set up!"

"Sakura, calm down!"

Sonia yelled, taking Sakura's arm and sitting her down in a nearby chair.

"I'm sure it was just a bad dream. Vanilla wouldn't be working for Robotnik! Those Swatbots attacked her for goodness sake!"

"I know what I saw, Sonia! Vanilla's working for the Eggman!"

"That's enough Sakura!"

Sonic yelled at her, Vanilla by now crying in Manic's arms.

"It was just a stupid nightmare or something! Now let it go, you're upsetting Vanilla!"

He went to lay a hand on his sister's shoulder, but she slapped it away.

"Who're you gonna believe, Sonic! Some girl you just met or your own Sister!"

Sonic was silent at Sakura's words, her angry, aqua green eyes meeting with his shocked, emerald green ones. After a long moment of silence, Sakura finally spoke.

"That's what I thought... fine, walk right into a sporking trap and see if I care... "

With that, Sakura stood and headed for the door. Sonia immediately went after her.

"Sakura, wait... "

She began, but Sakura growled and shoved her back, the continuing out the door. Everyone stood there in pure shock.

-

"Should've known that wouldn't last... "

Sakura muttered to herself as she walked the streets aimlessly, kicking a can along as she went.

"Stupid sibs... well, fine. I don't need them. I've been trained all my life as a fighter, I can go it myself. "

She continued to walk along for a good while, finally stopping for a moment as she heard her stomach growl. She sighed slightly and glanced around, looking for a place to get some food. She finally smiled a bit when she saw a Noodle House nearby. Perhaps a bowl of Beef Ramen would make her feel better.

Sakura entered the Noodle House and sat down at the counter. It surprised her a bit to see a place like this that was open 24 hours, it being around 3 AM at the time, but yet it was pleasing to her that the place was at the same time empty because of the hour.

A waiter; a Panda girl wearing a red kimono with Cherry Blossom petal designs in the cloth; came out to take Sakura's order. The blonde girl ordered the largest bowl of Beef Ramen they had with a bowl of steamed rice and a Vanilla Coke.

While waiting for her order, Sakura slid a pair of headphones on her head and slid her favourite CD full of music by Crush 40, Elvis and Puffy AmiYumi into her CD player. She bobbed her head softly to the music and sang in a whispering tone,

"I see no, hear no evil. Black writings on the wall. Unleash a million faces, and one by one they fall. Black hearted evil, brave hearted hero. I am all I am, all I am... "

Sakura started forgetting her troubles as the music played, not even noticing as the worried forms of Sonic and Sonia stepped into the restaurant behind her. Sonic gently nudged his pink-quilled sister.

"Told ya Sakura would probably be here. Sakura's diet practically consists of Ramen and Vanilla Coke. "

Sonia nodded a bit, the two Hedgehogs then walking forward. Sonic took the seat on Sakura's right, and Sonia to her left. The blonde still idn't notice, just whispering the song as she waited for her order.

"One step forward two steps back... do it, do it, do it, do it. Can you see all of me walkin' to my destiny? Step inside and hold on for dear life. Do you remember me? Capture you or set you free? I am all, I am all of me."

Sonia smirked slightly and reached forward, pressing the stop button on the CD player. Sakura immediately blinked her aqua green eyes open.

"Hey, who cut Crush 40?"

She asked, then seeing Sonic and Sonia. She huffed.

"Oh, it's you two... "

"Look, Sakura... "

Sonic began.

"I... we didn't mean to upset you, it's just... "

Sonic had trouble finding the words. Sonia finally spoke up,

"Let's just talk it out over Ramen, okay Sis?"

-

"Manic, they've been gone a long time... "

Vanilla whispered as she sat with the green Hedgehog in the van, looking at the clock. Manic nodded in agreement, then looking to the Fox girl.

"Yeah, but Sakura... well, she's stubborn. They'll probably be a while."

"Maybe we should go help them, Manic."

"But we don't know where they are, and you need to rest."

Vanilla stood up, pulling on her shoes as she replied,

"It's a small town. I'm sure we can find them. And besides, I'm pretty well rested now... I wanna try and help anyway, since I was the one who upset her."

"You didn't upset her, Vanilla. Sakura was upset by whatever whacked nightmare she had. If you really wanna go look for her though... "

Vanilla nodded, she and Manic soon heading off into the town.

They walked for about an hour, Vanilla leading Manic along in the fact that she knew the town's layout better than he did. She soon led him into the old part of the town, where several run down and uninhabited houses sat. The green Hedgie looked around the desolate area, then back to the pink fox girl that was leading him.

"Vanilla, why would my sibs be here? This place is like, devoid of life other than us... "

The pink Fox then stopped, Manic almost bumping into her since he was walking behind her. She then turned, looking right into his eyes as she took his hands softly. Manic was getting an uneasy feeling.

"Manic, I... I wanna thank you for saving my life earlier."

She said out of the blue. Manic was confused, and opened his mouth to speak, but he was suddenly cut off as Vanilla pressed her lips lushly against his in a passionate kiss.

Manic's eyes widened in surprise, the green Hedgehog just standing there in shock. Vanilla pulled back after a moment and smiled as she said,

"I like you, Manic... "

"Y-you do?"

He stuttered, Vanilla smiling sweetly and nodding.

"Yup. There's just something about you that I just can't resist. It's like we were destined for each other."

Manic wasn't sure what to say or do. He was still in shock from the kiss, feeling an odd, warm and sort of electrical energy running through his body. Vanilla smiled softly, then gently took his wrist.

"Now, come on, we need to find your Brother and Sisters."

-

_End Chapter 7_

_-_

**Wow... it's been a while since I updated this story, but I finally did it! And I started on Chapter 8, so hopefully, I'll have that up pretty soon! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please read and review! n.n**


	8. All's Fair In Love And War

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 8_

**"All is fair in Love and War"**

-

"Okay, fine, I'll give Vanilla another chance... "

Sakura muttered reluctantly as she set her chopsticks down on her now empty bowl. She knew what she had seen; knew that Vanilla, assuming that was her real name, was working for Robotnik, but she hoped that maybe her siblings would see that in time, and that maybe she could perhaps protect them from her until then.

"Thanks Sakura. She's not evil like you think, you'll see."

Sonic said, gently patting Sakura's back a bit before finishing off the Chicken Ramen he'd ordered. Sonia also finished her Shrimp Ramen, setting down her chopsticks and getting up.

"Come on, let's head back to the van. Vanilla and Manic are probably worried. "

She said, Sakura nodding a bit and standing, following her adoptive Brother and Sister out the front door.

No sooner than they had stepped out though, the blonde girl stopped, looking around. Her siblings tilted their heads at her, Sonic then asking,

"What's wrong, Sakura? You feel something? "

"Yes... there's a very evil force nearby, so we'd better move. "

The three were about to do so, but were suddenly stopped as a net was thrown down on them by someone atop the nearby building. The three struggled against the net, but some unusual, metallic threads in the rope of it gave off an odd glow, and they felt their energy being drained. It wasn't long before the three were drained to unconciousness.

"Good aim, Dingo. I didn't think the Hedgehog and the Human Girl would get out of that one. Dr. Robotnik's new Energy Drain Nets work beautifully. "

Sleet said as his wolfish form then emerged from the darkness of a nearby alley. Dingo was soon to jump down from the top of the building and onto the nearby pavement.

"Yeah, even we couldn't screw that one up, Sleet. "

With that, the Orange One was fwapped in the back of the head. He yelped a bit and rubbed the attacked area, looking to his partner.

"What wazzat for, Sleet? "

"Just shut up you idiot and help me haul them back to the vehicle. "

"Right Sleet... hey, izzit just me, or is somethin' missin'? "

Sleet quirked an eyebrow, then looking over at their catch. He then sweatdropped slightly.

"For once, you're right! Their Brother Manic is missing! Where could he be? "

"Aw, relax, Sleet. That pretty little Vanilla girl is probably takin' care of 'im. "

"I don't trust her somehow... but I suppose as long as she helps get the job done. Come on, let's take these three in to Dr. Robotnik. "

-

"I don't get it... we've been through the whole city and not a sign of my sibs... maybe we should head back to the van, Vanilla. Maybe they're coolin' jet back there. "

Manic told Vanilla as they finally stopped to rest on a bench on the sidewalk for a while. The pink Fox looked to the Green Hedgehog an replied,

"Well, we've been out so long, they've probably come back out to look for US... so we should probably keep looking for them and... "

That's when Manic gently took Vanilla's wrist, then tightening his grip.

"Vanilla... you wanna keep me away from my sibs for some reason, don't you? "

Vanilla's eyes widened a bit and she replied,

"N-no, what makes you say that... ? "

"You keep dragging me around in circles for one thing. You're not really looking for them, are you? You have something up your sleeve... Sakura was right, wasn't she! "

"Manic... no, I just... I... "

That's when the ground in front of them was suddenly scorched by laser fire, the two jumping out of their seats and looking up to see a few Swatbots heading their way. Vanilla gasped and grabbed Manic's wrist.

"Come on Manic, we have to run! "

She went to run, but Manic pulled his wrist forcefully from her hand.

"Why, so you can lead me into a trap? You lead me right to your little Swatbot pals! "

"Manic... no, I didn't know they were there! Please, listen to me! "

Manic snarled slightly at Vanilla, deciding to leave her with it as he ran another way. The pink Fox soon followed him, the Swatbots chasing them both for a good while, but the two eventually lost them and escaped into hiding back in the old, uninhabited district of town.

Manic stepped into one of the old houses, Vanilla going to follow him, but he slammed the door in her face. The pink Fox sighed and opened it, looking in.

"Manic, please, give me a chance to explain... "

"There's nothing for you to explain! I trusted you, Vanilla! You used that to get to my Brother and Sisters, and you almost got to me with it! Well... "

The Green Hedgehog seemed to angry to speak further, Vanilla slowly walking up behind him. He turned to her with a cold glare, staring her down with his ice blue eyes.

"Where are they, Vanilla? Where're my sibs? You know, don't you? You know! "

Vanilla was silent. Manic growled slightly and grabbed her by the front of her shirt in a rough manner.

"Answer me! Where are they! "

"Th-they're in a small, secret base of Robotnik's outside the city! Hidden in the forest! "

Vanilla spoke in a stuttering and frightened tone, Manic then letting loose of her shirt and grabbing her wrist.

"Fine. You're gonna take me there. But before we go, I wanna ask you something... why? "

The pink Fox blinked a little in surprise at the green Hedgehog's words. Manic then repeated himself.

"Why, Vanilla? How could you work for Robotnik like this... ? "

Vanilla sighed softly, staring at the floor a moment before replying,

"Because... I was programmed to. "

Manic blinked, wondering what she meant by 'programmed'. Vanilla then took her free hand and reached over to her other arm, opening up a panel hidden under the fake-but-realistic looking fur and revealing an intricate symphony of electronics. Manic was stunned.

"Y-you're a robot... ?"

He stuttered, Vanilla nodding slowly and closing up the panel.

"Yes... yes, it's true... I'm a robot... I'm not real like you. Robotnik programmed me and used me to lure your Brother and Sisters into a trap. I was... actually meant to lure you into the same trap, but... but after watching all the surveillance tapes where Robotnik had at times spied on you and your siblings, I... I began having this unknown feeling for you. It felt like what I assume is called love... so, I... I spirited you away to try and keep you from getting captured."

"Vanilla... "

Manic whispered, watching as the pink Fox girl slumped down into a crying heap before him, oil running from the corners of her eyes.

"I... I'm so sorry Manic, but I couldn't go against my programming! I don't know how I ever managed to fight it enough to try and keep you from getting captured! I'm so so sorry! "

She continued to sob her oily tears onto the floor, the green Hedgehog then kneeling down and placing his finger under his chin, lifting it a bit and looking into her crystal blue eyes and gently wiping away her black tears.

"Hey now, don't cry. I understand now... and I think there might be a way I can help you, but you'll have to trust me, okay? "

"Okay... "

-

"Ugh... where the heck are we... ? "

Sonic mumbled drowsily as he slowly lifted himself from the cold, metal floor. He rubbed his head, feeling a terrible ache in it and looked around. He found himself in a full-metal prison cell with electric bars, Sonia and Sakura laying on the cell floor nearby and slowly starting to come around. Sakura cringed slightly at some pain in her own head and growled,

"Can't believe we got ourselves busted... where the heck are we? "

"Looks like one of Robotnik's prisons. "

Sonia replied, standing up and going to the electric bars. Getting out of here was NOT gonna be easy.

"Sleet and Dingo are SO gonna get it soon as we get outta here... "

Sakura growled, genuinely angry now.

"Yeah, but we need to get out first if you're gonna do that."

Sonia told the blonde, her amethyst eyes looking all about.

"Any ideas? "

"Oh, you three aren't going anywhere... except maybe to the roboticizer. "

A wolfish and lispy voice said as Sleet entered the room just outside the cell, the ever-present and orange form of Dingo right behind him. Sonic, Sonia and Sakura all three threw glares at the two, Sonic speaking first.

"Well, if it isn't ugly and uglier. "

Sleet grunted at Sonic and retorted,

"Watch your mouth, Hedgehog! Letting it go like that will only hasten your visit to the roboticizer! "

"You're the one who'd best watch your mouth, Sleet. Don't you DARE ever talk to my Brother like that again. "

Sakura seethed, glaring at the Wolf and Dingo icily. The Orange creature simply smirked, Sleet reaching his hand in and putting a finger under the girl's chin, looking into her aqua green eyes and smiling slyly as he said,

"Now now dear, watch yourself. Your Brother and Sister may be going stright to the roboticizer, but Dr. Robotnik wants you put right to death. "

Sonic and Sonia looked shocked at the Wolf's words, but Sakura seemed unshaken, slapping Sleet's hand away.

"Why does he want me dead exactly? "

She asked angrily, Sleet shrugging as he replied,

No idea, but the Doctor seems to really have it out for you. Dingo and I are just following orders. Now then, we need to go... prepare things. "

Sleet gave a wolfish chuckle, he and his partner then leaving the room.

Sakura just stood there in silence after they left, Sonic and Sonia stepping closer to her, the two of them still in shock from what Sleet had said.

"Sakura... ?"

Sonia whispered, her Sister not even looking at her as she replied,

"So Robotnik wants me dead... well this is a turn of events."

"How can you be so calm about it? If we don't find a way to get out of here, Robotnik's gonna have you killed! "

Sonia exclaimed, Sakura seemingly not phased though as she just stood there, looking at the floor as she replied,

"If that's gonna be my fate, then why cry over it? When I became part of the resistance, I expected this might happen and was prepared, otherwise I wouldn't've joined up. Look, i-if you guys get out of here and I somehopw don't, find my Dad and tell him I'm sorry and that I love him, okay? "

Her siblings were hesitant, but Sonic soon laid his hand on her shoulder and said,

"I promise... if you don't make it, Sonia and I will tell him. "

"Thanks... "

Sakura whispered, masking her emotions well as she cried on the inside, but kept herself tough and emotionless on the outside.

"I just hope Manic doesn't get caught too... "

-

"Okay Vanilla, just a couple more minor adjustments. "

Manic told the pink Fox as they sat in the SU Van now, the green Hedgehog working on an intricate electronic mass in her back with his tools. He crossed a wire or two, replace a chip here and there. Vanilla held perfectly still.

"So, what's all this for exactly, Manic? "

She asked, the Hedgehog then smirking and making his reply,

"Oh, trust me, you'll see."

Vanilla just nodded a bit, trusting Manic as he continued to work on her delicate circuitry and electronics. After a few minutes, he closed up the panel on her back.

"Okay, you're all done Vanilla. How do you feel?"

"I feel... different... but I'm not sure how... "

The pink Fox stated as she stood up, looking herself over. Manic smirked as he watched her.

"So, what say we go free my Bro and Sisters now? "

"Oh, all right Manic!"

Vanilla replied cheerfully, then realizing... she had just volunteered to do something that Robotnik had programmed her NOT to do without even hardly thinking about it!

"O-oh my... Manic, you... you... "

"I gave you free will. "

He finished her sentence, smiling warmly to her and gently taking her wrists.

"You're free now. You don't have to do Robotnik's bidding anymore. "

"But... Manic, how'd you do it? "

"Just a little rewiring and a little reprogramming, not to mention deleting a few of Robotnik's programs. Just wish it was as easy for a Robian, but... their wiring and programming is completely different. Even if I did know how to give a Robian free will again, the only way to get them still long enough to do the reprogramming and rewiring would be to shut 'em down, and shutting a robian down once shuts 'em down for good since it kills the person in the robot... "

"Oh, Manic... "

Vanilla gently reached forward and hugged Manic.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find a way to help Robians regain their free will some day... but for now, we need to help your siblings. "

Manic nodded a little.

"Yeah... come on, let's go."

-

It wasn't long before Vanilla and Manic had made their way into the base where Sonic, Sonia and Sakura were being held. They snuck in through the ventilation system; a classic infiltration tactic, and soon entered the prison block.

"They should be in here."

Vanilla stated as she and Manic dropped down out of the air duct they'd been crawling in and into the hallway, Manic soon following suit and landing next to her on the white tiled floor. The green Hedgehog's crystal blue eyes scanned the area carefully, making totally sure there were no Swatbots around to bust them.

"Looks like we're all clear. See my sibs anywhere, Vanilla? "

Manic asked, the pink Fox girl looking back to him and replying,

"They should be in a cell at the end of this hallway. Come on. "

With that, she started down the hallway silently. Manic followed her, the two soon coming up on an cell with bars made of electricity; Sonic and Sonia laid unconcious and pretty badly beaten inside.

Manic almost called out their names then and there, but restrained himself, knowing he couldn't risk getting busted now. He wondered where Sakura was though, watching as Vanilla punched in a code on the keypad beside the cell. The electrical bars soon disappeared, Manic rushing in and toward his Brother and Sister.

Sonic was the first to come to, coughing a bit and opening his emerald eyes just enough to see, his vision blurry.

"M-Manic... ?"

The blue Hedgehog whispered, slowly sitting up. His Brother knelt down next to him and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Yeah, it's me Bro. Take it easy and tell me what happened. Where's Saku? "

Sonic coughed dryly, wincing slightly as his coughing aggrivated a bruise on his chest, but he managed to reply afterward,

"S-Sleet and Dingo took her... Sonia and I tried to fight, but... th-they managed to get us with Stun guns... I couldn't evade 'em in this little cell... Sonia and I got beaten and knocked out after that... they took our medallions... "

"But where's Saku? Do you know where Sleet and Dingo took her? "

"R-robotnik... he wants her executed... Manic, you gotta help her... before they kill her... "

Manic was in a state of pale, rigid shock for a moment, but he finally regained his senses and said,

"Vanilla, where does Robotnik execute prisoners? "

"I don't know, Manic. He's never executed anyone before. He always roboticizes his prisoners. "

The pink Fox girl replied, Manic growling slightly at the situation before telling her,

"Vanilla, you get my Bro and Sis outta here. I'm goin' after Saku. "

"But Manic... "

"Just do it, Vanilla. I'm counting on you. "

Vanilla nodded reluctantly, Manic then getting up and heading out of the cell, hoping he wouldn't be too late. He then had a thought.

"I wonder if... this is what my dream meant... "

-

"So, are you ready to face your fate, Sakura? "

Robotnik himself asked in amusement as a Swatbot threw down her beaten and weak body on the cold dirt ground out behind the base, a few other Swatbots surrounding her with their blasters at the ready. Sakura managed to sit up and snarled at them, her aqua green eyes burning with a fiery hatred.

"Just tell me one thing, Egg Belly... just why do you want me dead so badly? "

"Now now. If I told you, it would spoil all the fun! "

The Doctor guffawed, then looking to his Swatbot minions.

"All right Swatbots! Ready... aim... "

Sakura didn't even move, not wanting to show any weakness in front of Robotnik, even in the face of death itself. She was ready for her fate... or at least, she thought she was.

Robotnik was about to give his robots the order to fire... but he was then cut off as the ground suddenly started rumbling.

"What the... ? No, it can't be... "

He snarled, the rumbling then suddenly turning into a full throttle earthquake, sending Swatbots and anything else standing, including the Doctor, to the ground. Sakura was a bit surprised, slowly managing to stand up and keep her balance on the quaking ground. It was fortunate she had such a good center of gravity from her training and her times in the Marble Zone.

The quaking then stopped suddenly, and off in the distance toward the base, Sakura could see Manic recalling his drumkit to his medallion.

"Saku, come on! Before they get up! "

He called to her, the blonde girl nodding and making a quick dash toward Manic.

One of the Swatbots managed to get up though, turning it's optic sensors over to Sakura as she ran. The robot locked onto her and held up it's arm, ready to blast her with it's arm-mounted laser.

That's when everything seems to go in slow motion for Manic though, and in his mind;s eye, could somehow see the laser blast heading for his Sister before it even left the barrel. The green Hedgehog made a desperate leap at his sister, everything suddenly going back to normal speed as he did so.

"Sakura, get down!"

He yelled frantically as he tackled her down, just in time to get her out of the red hit laser's path. Manic wasn't so fortunate though, the laser hitting him square in the shoulder. He yelled out in pain and was knocked to the ground with the force, gripping the injured area tight.

"Manic, no!"

Sakura cried, looking up and sees the Swatbot coming their way, getting ready to fire again. She had to do something... they couldn't get inside quickly enough to avoid the laser fire.

With only one idea coming to her head, Sakura snatched Manic's shiny medallion from around his neck and held it up just in time to deflect the Swatbot's laser fire, sending it right back where it came and watching it sear into the 'bot's metalli armours. The shot hit something vital within the 'bot, and it exploded. Sakura turned to Manic once she was sure the Swatbot was down and knelt down next to him.

"Let me see the wound, Bro... "

She said, her Brother reluctantly moving his hand away from his shoulder. Sakura cringed when she saw the burned hole in his skin, wondering just how deep the wound actually went. She decided to think about it later, ripping a strip of cloth out of her camouflage jacket and wrapping the wound.

"That should hold it for now. Come on Manic. "

The green Hedgehog nodded in agreement, Sakura helping him up before they ran back into the base to avoid getting shot by the other Swatbots that were getting up.

Once inside, they began ducking in and out of hallways to try and stay one step ahead of as well as confuse their pursuers. It wasn't an easy task, they could tell you that much. It seemed like more Swatbots were waiting for them at every turn.

Finally, they ducked into a storage room for shelter, Manic locking the door and breathing heavily.

"I think we lost 'em... for now."

He said, Sakura nodding and tying the thread on his medallion back together now that she had the chance, putting it back around his neck as she replied,

"Yeah, but we still need to find Sonic and Sonia before they get roboticized."

"Don't need to, Vanilla already got them out of here. "

"Wha... ?"

"Relax, Sakura... you were right, Vanilla was bad news... but it wasn't her fault. Turned out she was one of Robotnik's 'bots, but I reprogrammed her so she could have free will. She somehow went against her programming enough to help me, so I decided to help her... "

"Wow... well, I guess... all we need to do then is find the Medallions Robotnik took from Sonic, Sonia and I."

"Won't hafta look far, Sis. Take a look over there."

Manic pointed to a nearby table in the storage room, where Sonic, Sonia and Sakura's medallions laid. The human girl grinned and immediately took her flute-shaped medallion and put it back on her neck, then putting her siblings' medallions in her pocket. She looked to her Brother, grabbing a large rifle from a nearby box.

"Now THIS is a 'bot buster if I ever saw one! Come on, let's get going now that our only objective is to get the heck outta here without getting fried."

Manic nodded in agreement and they started to leave, but that's when the door was suddenly blown in by Swatbot fire outside. Sakura and Manic didn't hesitate to jump back in evasion, the human Girl smirking and returning fire without hesitation, 'bots falling left and right.

"Yeah, how ya likin' that, Iron Pants? This is what ya get when ya mess with Sakura Hedgehog!"

Her Brother didn't waste any time grabbing another rifle from a box nearby with his good arm and helping return fire, the two then making a break for it when all the 'bots were down and heading down another hallway. Sakura smirked.

"I think there's an exit down this hallway! I was semi-concious when Sleet and Dingo were dragging us in earlier and I remember it!"

The two ran forward as fast as their legs would carry them, but speaking of Robotnik's only two organic henchmen, that's when Sleet and Dingo suddenly burst in through the exit door to cut them off, Sakura and Manic coming to a screeching halt.

"There you two are! Dingo, let's get them!"

Sleet yelled, he and his partner quickly advancing on their victims. Sakura quickly reached up to her medallion though, calling out her recorder flute and taking the top off of it, which looked like a whistle when separated from the rest.

"Manic, cover your ears!"

She yelled, her Brother not asking questions and just doing so as his Sister took a deep breath, then blowing hard into the whistle and creating a very high pitched screech. Sleet and Dingo stopped in their tracks, covering their ears in pain and faultering to the floor.

Sakura breathed heavily after finishing her whistle, then looking to Manic.

"Okay, let's go!"

She yelled, Manic nodding before they both ran forward, around Sleet and Dingo and out the exit.

-

Sakura and Manic did get chased by some Stealth 'Bots after they'd exited the base, but they'd managed to escape into the forests and lose them. The two now found themselves in the Sonic Underground Van, Sonic at the wheel and driving along as Sonia treated her Brother's shoulder, Sakura speaking with Vanilla.

"... so, I guess I owe you an apology, Vanilla. It wasn't your fault that you were working for Robotnik."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sakura. You were just trying to look after your Brothers and Sister. I would've done the same thing. And besides, now that Manic's reprogrammed me with free will, I can do undercover work and Robotnik will still think I'm working for him."

Vanilla told her, Manic smirking and saying,

"Yeah, we got someone working on the inside! I like the sound of this! OW! Hey, watch it, Sonia! That hurt!"

"It's gonna hurt worse if you don't hold still!"

Sonia retorted as she continued cleaning and treating the wound.

Sakura smiled softly as she watched them, leaning against the wall and thanking God that everything had turned out okay in the end.

Manic was staying still for Sonia now, the pain not so bad after she'd finished cleaning out the wound. The wound... Sakura had almost been shot, just like in his dream, but he'd also stopped her from dying just like his Mother had said he could.

He wondered... was it maybe some kind of a vision? His dreams most certainly hadn't felt right after his encounter with Nightmare. He wondered if perhaps Nightmare's near trance on him had perhaps had an effect on his mind that allowed him to see such things.

He decided to drop the thought for now, but later that night, he was tossing and turning with another nightmare... or perhaps a vision...

-

**End Chapter 8**

-

_Whew! I know it was a long time coming, but I finally finished this chapter! So sorry I left you people hanging so long! My apologies!_

_Anyway, hopefully next chapter will be quicker coming! Hope you all enjoyed this one, and please oh PLEASE leave me a review! Even if you don't like it, at least tell me what I'm doing wrong! lol. Well, Merry Christmas, everyone!_


	9. The Queen and her Soldier

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 9_

**"The Queen and her Soldier"**

-

Manic sighed with pleasure as he sat at his worktable in the base, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow and smiling in a pleased manner as he looked at the work he'd just finished.

"Finally. Okay Saku, I think they're ready for a test run."

He said, picking up the shoes he'd just made from the worktable and handing them to his human Sister.

"Hope they fit right. This is actually the first time I ever made a pair of shoes."

"Well, let's see. Thanks for doing this for me, Bro."

Sakura said as she sat in a nearby chair and pulled off her combat boots, starting to put the shoes on. Sonic stood nearby and quirked an eyebrow at the shoes.

"Hey, those shoes look familiar..."

He said, looking at them closely as his Sister slid them onto her slender feet.

"Now where've I seen... ? Oh, yeah, those shoes look just like Shadow's did!"

"Yup. I figure you have your speed, Sonia has her motorbike, Manic has his Therma Board... I felt I needed a bit of fast transportation myself, so I asked Manic to make these for me."

The blonde girl replied as she stood up. She quickly started into a run across the particularly large room, her feet gliding across the floor as if she was rollerblading on air. Sonic's emerald eyes widened a bit in surprise.

"Manic, how'd you manage to make something like that?"

"Easy. I had Vanilla's help. I asked her to get me some parts, and some diagrams of Shadow when he got roboticized. Found out Robotnik keeps diagrams of everyone he roboticizes, so in case they break down or somethin' they'll be easy to fix. Anyway, got a good look at Shadow's Hover Shoes in the diagram and just rebuilt them with the parts Vanilla got me from one of Robotnik's warehouses."

"Nice goin' Bro. "

Sonic said with a smirk as Sakura continued going faster and faster around the room, skillfully managing to keep from falling or running into anything though, and even pulling off some pretty impressive tricks. Manic then turned his crystal blue eyes to his Brother and said,

"I'll study the diagrams Vanilla got me and see if there's any way I can use the knowledge to make some kind of a deroboticizer, but the skematics are mainly on the hardware and not so much the software of the roboticized person, so I dunno."

"Don't worry, Bro. We'll figure out somethin'. For now, I think Saku's really appreciatin' her new shoes."

-

Shadow smiled softly to himself as he watched Sakura inconspicuously through the window of the base, enjoying watching his daughter's happiness.

"That's my girl... "

He whispered to himself, watching her a moment more before deciding it best to take his leave, before he was seen. He turned around and began to walk away through the dark, city streets.

"She's really grown up since she left Blackridge. I guess she had to... poor girl. She didn't deserve to get caught up in this war... "

Shadow murmured softly as he continued to walk, his metallic feet making the slightest clink against the pavement of the sidewalk.

His mind was consumed in these and other thoughts as he neared the edge of the city, and soon came to a small, white van parked just on the outskirts. He tapped on the door of the van, and the click of a lock was heard. He opened the door and entered.

"Queen Aleena?"

Shadow whispered as he stepped into the vehicle, the purple Hedgehog in question chuckling softly in the driver's seat.

"Shadow, no need to call me by my full title. Just Ali like you called me in the first war is fine."

She told him. The Robian Hedgehog smiled softly and took his seat on the passenger side. It was Aleena's night to drive.

"Heh. As you wish, Ali... the first war though... crazy times, huh?"

"Yes. I still can't believe I had the nerve to run away from home and posed as a male soldier to get into the army."

"Hey, you made a good soldier. Heck, you embarassed some of the guys there."

Shadow snickered, Aleena chuckling softly and replying,

"Yes, that I did. It was worth it to get away from my parents a while."

"... your parents were pretty controlling, weren't they?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."

Aleena huffed slightly as she started the van, driving off.

"So... did you see Sakura?"

"Yeah. Manic made her a pair of hover shoes like mine. She really loves them... "

The Queen leaned back in her seat as she drove and glanced back over to Shadow as she said,

"... sounds more to me like she misses you, and wanted a little something to remind her of you."

"I guess... "

Shadow sighed softly, looking down. Aleena reached over with one hand and patted his shoulder. The black Hedgehog looked back to her and said,

"I don't like what the Oracle said... about Sakura's fate... "

"Neither do I Shadow, but there's nothing we can do... and with her kind of a spirit, Sakura is willing to accept this destiny."

"That doesn't make me feel any better about it... "

He snapped slightly, Aleena sighing and keeping her eyes on the road.

About an hour of silence passed, the only sounds being that of the rotating tires and the van's engine. Finally, Aleena brought the van to a stop in the middle of a forest, under some dense foliage.

"This should keep us safe and hidden for the night. Come, let us rest Shadow."

She said, getting up and going to the back of the van, rolling out her sleeping bag. She laid down in it, Shadow slowly getting up and reluctantly getting into his own sleeping bag. Aleena reached over and patted his shoulder again.

"Please, try and sleep, Shadow... you need rest. I know it's not easy... knowing what will happen, but... "

Shadow sighed and nodded slowly, turning over with his back to Aleena and muttering,

"G'night, Ali... "

-

The next morning, Aleena woke to find Shadow gone. She slowly sat up and glanced around.

"Shadow... ?"

She whispered, then standing up and going to the van door. She opened it up and stepped outside, finding Shadow sitting on a tree stump not far away with a book in his lap. She silently stepped closer, seeing the book was actually a photo album of Shadow and a very young Sakura. Aleena felt hurt for poor Shadow and turned, starting to leave him in thoughts that he didn't want company, Shadow then saying without even looking to her,

"Don't go... please... I don't wanna be alone."

With that, he scooted aside a bit, Aleena smiling softly and taking a seat next to him.

Shadow looked at the album in silence for a moment, then pointing to a picture in the album of Sakura at about age 9, in a school uniform and beating up some guys her age.

"Look, this is her first day of school... well, regular school. She was homeschooled her first 2 years... she beat up bullies her first day. They never bullied again. "

Aleena couldn't help but chuckle, leaning in close to look at the picture.

"You must have started her combat training early... "

She said, Shadow nodding and replying,

"I did. By the time she was 11, she could disarm and destroy Swatbots without getting a scratch."

"Like Father, like Daughter."

Aleena smiled, Shadow finally breaking a bit of a smile... but he soon sighed and closed the album, looking down. He was silent for a long moment.

"... why, though? She was just a child... and really, she still is. She shouldn't have to be fighting a war and... "

He swallowed hard, Aleena leaning close and hugging his metallic frame.

"I did wonder at first... why the Oracle said the Council of Four instead of the Council of Five... Aleena, why does it have to be this way? Why does Sakura have to... ?"

"I don't know, Shadow, I honestly don't know... "

"It just seems so unfair... all Sakura ever wanted to do was live a normal and happy life... that's all... "

"... I know how you feel, Shadow. It's hard for me to watch my children fight this war. All I ever wanted for them was to grow up loved and happy."

Aleena then softly kissed his metallic cheek and added,

"Whatever happens though, I'm here for you. Always. "

The black Hedgehog couldn't help but crack a smile as he replied,

"Thanks, Ali..."

Aleena smiled softly to him and gently took his hand, rubbing the smooth, metallic surface with her slender, feminine fingers.

"And this metal body of yours... I know you hate it. Don't worry, I promise you we'll find some way to make you flesh and blood again."

She told him, Shadow looking to her and replying,

"That's a pretty tall promise, Ali. Making a Hedgehog into a robot is easy for Robotnik, but making a robot back into a Hedgehog... "

"Don't worry, Shadow. If there was a way to make you a robot, then there's a way to turn you back. I did manage to revert you back to your free will already, after all."

"True..."

"Don't give up hope, Shadow. I know it looks grim, but... like I said; If worse comes to worst, and no matter what happens, I'm here for you."

The Queen gently nuzzled the black Hedgehog's cheek a bit, making him smile a little more as he gently stroked her long, flowing, dark purple quills.

"Ali... you're too good to me. Always have been... "

He told her. Aleena smiled softly and kisses his cheek again. She then looked at the ground.

"Shadow... there's something you should know though... "

The Hedgie in question would have quirked an eyebrow had they not been made of solid metal, but he listened. Aleena looked him straight in the eyes, Shadow knowing she had something vitally important to say now. Aleena ALWAYS looked him straight in the eyes when she had something important to say.

"It's about Sonic, Manic and Sonia... Shadow, do you remember that night after the last war, just before I was coronated from Princess to Queen the next day?"

Shadow nodded slowly, remembering how he and Aleena had spent that night together, knowing that it as probably their last chance to be with one another, since Aleena was becoming Queen, and a Queen and a Soldier together is virtually unheard of.

Aleena swallowed hard, but she kept eye contact as she said,

"Shadow... they're yours."

The Black Hedgehog's optical units lit up in surprise, Aleena's words leaving him in shock. He just sat there a long moment before whispering,

"Wh-what... what did you say?"

"I said Sonic, Manic and Sonia are yours. I conceived them that night, Shadow..."

Another speechless moment went by for Shadow before he managed to speak again with,

"But... but how? I thought... I mean... wh-when word got to Blackridge that you'd had kids, we were told that you'd had an Artificial Insemination so that there would be an heir to the throne, since there was no other royalty left for you to marry after the war!"

"That's the tale that my courts told, Shadow. They didn't want anyone to know that I'd carried the children of a Soldier from our army... they thought it absurd, and had everyone convinced that I'd conceived through other means before I ever even had a chance to tell my people the truth..."

Shadow slowly nodded in understanding, looking down at the ground in thought for a second before returning his gaze to Aleena.

"Do they know? The kids, I mean... "

"No. Unfortunately, I had to give them up before they were old enough for me to tell them... I wish I'd had the chance though."

It was Aleena's turn to look at the ground now, but her's was more out of shame that she'd been unable to tell anyone the truth. She looked back to Shadow after a moment however and said,

"Shadow, when this is all over... I want to be with you. I don't care what anyone says... I'm believed in and well trusted in my Kingdom now, and so they will trust my decision of marrying someone outside of royalty... Shadow, will you? Please? I don't want us to be apart again, and I want our Children to know their Father..."

Shadow smiled softly, gently taking Aleena's hand and holding it as he said,

"Of course I will, Aleena. I'd love nothing more."

A smile tugged itself across the Queen's muzzle very quickly as she suddenly hugged Shadow tight.

"Shadow... thank you. I love you so much... I always have."

"I love you too, Aleena... "

Shadow said, hugging her back lovingly. He nuzzled her cheek softly and looked up at the sky over his shoulder.

Knowing Sakura's fate still bothered him, but at least he had Aleena now, as well as his children.

-  
**End Chapter 9**

-

_Whoa, it's been FOREVER since I updated this fanfic... but hey, here's chapter 9, finally. lol. A little mushy with the Shadow and Aleena fluff, but heh, I felt like you people wanted it, and it was fun to wirte. Please read and review, people! n.n_


	10. The Sands of Time

**"Next Level Underground"**

_By_

**Sakura Courage Solo**

-

_Chapter 10_

**"The Sands of Time"**

-

"It's about time we caught you, Sakura. Such a naughty young girl you are."

Dr. Robotnik gloated as he walked about, a slight spring in his step as he watched the restrained form of Sakura, who was clamped to a tall, metal column in the Doctor's lab with metal reastraints. The girl struggled, snarling in a wolfish manner as she glared at Robotnik with her angry, aqua green eyes.

"At least tell me what it is you want with me, Thunderbutt..."

She seethed, the rotund doctor grunting a bit at her name-calling.

"Silence, girl. I made you, and I can break you."

He said, Sakura's eyes widening a bit in sudden surprise.

"Made me... ? Wh-what's that supposed to mean?"

Robotnik chortled at her stuttered words and replied,

"It means, my dear girl, that I am your true Biological father."

Sakura's eyes were wide with pure terror now, not wanting to believe him, but just the thought of it made her scream.

-

Manic sat straight up in bed, breathing heavily as sweat saturated his fur and sheets.

"Whoa... what a nightmare..."

He murmured to himself, wiping the perspiration from his face as he thought over the evil dream.

"Robotnik, Sakura's Dad... how freaky is that, man? But... could it be true... ? After all, there... aren't many humans around... ah, what'm I sayin'? Saku's too cool to be related to Robutt-head..."

The Green Hedgehog chuckled to himself in thought, but something deep down told him that the dream meant something. He spoke with Sonia about it first thing the next morning, before Sonic and Sakura were up.

"You think Sakura may be Robotnik's daughter...?"

The pink quilled Hedgehog asked, sounding unconvinced. Manic sighed heavily and replied,

"I can't help the way I felt about that nightmare, Sis..."

Sonia blinked, Manic's last sentence reminding her of something, and she had a thought.

"Manic, ever since you had that encounter with that Nightmare robot that Dr. Robotnik made, you have had dreams about a few things that later really happened... "

"Come to think, you're right..."

"Manic, I think that when that robot started to hypnotize you but didn't finish, it opened up a part of your mind that was dormant, or maybe sparked more activity in your brain, and that's why your seeing these things before they happen!"

Manic's eyes widened.

"Sis, are you sayin'... I'm psychic?"

"More or less. I mean, you did see Sakura getting shot in a dream before it happened. Well, it didn't happen, but it would have if you hadn't stopped it."

Sonia continued to name off several other things that her little Brother had seen before they happened, Manic just sort of standing there in a bit of shock as she spoke. Finally, Sonia put a hand on his shoulder.

"Manic, let's not breathe a word to Sakura about that nightmare last night, okay? No telling what she'd do if she thought that were a possibility."

"Right, don't worry, Sis. If Sakura finds out, it won't be from me."

"Good... the bad thing is though, it makes sense. Mom adopted her with no idea of who her real parents were or where she came from, and Robotnik and Sakura ARE both human..."

"Yeah... I hope that nightmare just stays a nightmare, Sis."

-

Later that afternoon, Manic and Sonia hadn't breathed a word about the possible vision to Sakura, or even Sonic for that matter, said Blue Hedgehog driving the van down a dirt road in a wide open, grassy plain as Sonia sat next to him with a map. Manic and Sakura sat in the back seat, trying to subdue one another on Zoids:Battle Legends on the Gamecube. At the moment, Sakura's Konig Wolf was giving Manic's Gun Sniper the beatdown while Sonic and Sonia argued over directions.

"I'm telling you Sonic, we should have made a right three turns ago!"

"Yeah, well I didn't hear you telling me that!"

"Sonic Hedgehog, YOU are in serious need of an attitude adjustment!"

"Oh, and I suppose YOU'RE gonna give it to me?"

The argument between the two got louder and more agressive as they rode along, Manic and Sakura totally oblivious to them. Sonic and Sonia looke dready to brawl with one another physically, but then... Sonia suddenly trailed off in her sentence, staring out the windshield. Sonic blinked in surprise and followed her gaze, wonder what could have silenced her so suddenly. His jaw dropped.

Up ahead, over a large lake, hung what looked like a small planet very close to the water's surface. Many different terrains were visible on the planet, such as mountains, icelands, even an area that looked like a city.

"Sis... what IS that?"

Sonic whispered in awe, Sonia regaining her composure, but replying just as quietly,

"I think it's the Little Planet... on the first day of every year, it appears very close to Mobius over Never Lake."

By now, things had gotten too silent, and oddly enough, Sakura and Manic noticed the silence more than the noise and came to the front of the Van to see what was going on. Needless to say, they became rather silent themselves.

That's when Sonia noticed something; a huge chain leading from a nearby mountain and to the Little Planet, tethering it down. She gasped.

"Oh my gosh, someone's got the planet tethered down!"

She pointed to the huge chain, everyone looking in surprise. Sakura let out a growl and said,

"Whaddya wanna bet this is Thunderbutt's doing?"

"But why would he wanna string down a planet like that?"

Manic asked, scratching his head a bit. Sonia thought a minute before replying,

"The Time Stones..."

"Time Stones?"

Sonic questioned, his Sister nodding as she continued.

"Yes... the Time Stones are, in their own way, like the Chaos Emeralds, except they control time itself! That's why when the Little Planet appears over Never Lake, it's said that the planet experiences time storms, where the past, present and all possible futures may show up!"

"Freakish... well, we'd best get on that planet and see what Egghead's up to."

-

Some time later, after camouflaging the van and climbing up along the huge chain that held the Little Planet in place, the four found themselves setting foot down in the zone that, from the ground below, had appeared to be a city, but now it was clear that it was a very odd but bright zone made up of random, colourful shaped bumpers and flippers. It looked almost like an overgrown Pinball machine.

"Whoa, never seen a Zone like this before..."

Manic commented, Sakura taking a couple of snapshots with her Digital Camera as she replied,

"Telling me... Dad mentioned a Zone like this once. I think he called it Collision Chaos..."

"Aptly named..."

Sonic said with a smirk.

"Come on, let's try and find these Time Stones before Robotnik does!"

"Should we split up? We'd cover more ground that way, and have a better chance of finding the Time Stones."

Sakura suggested, Sonia grunting a little at the fact that she didn't like the idea and saying,

"Yeah, we would, but we'll be safer sticking together. This planet is probably covered by Robotnik's 'bots and traps by now, so we should watch each others' backs."

"Yeah, Sonia's probably right..."

Sonic agreed. It was then that an odd wind picked up, the four getting a feeling something big was about to happen...

It did.

The Zone suddenly started to shift and change all around them, almost as if it were becoming an entirely new Zone.

"Wh-what's going on?"

Sakura asked in surprise, Sonia feeling the ground shift under her feet as she yelled,

"It must be a Time Storm! Everyone, hold on!"

Suddenly, there was a bright flash that blinded everyone. They all let out a yell of surprise, and then there was silence.

-

"Ugh, what the heck happened?"

Sonic wondered aloud as he and Sonia awoke, the two groaning from the experience and slowly sitting up. Sonia rubbed her temples and replied,

"A Time Storm, that's what happened..."

"Great..."

Sonic complained as he stood up, emerald eyes searching the area. It was still Collision Chaos Zone, but it was... a bit more complex, shiny and futuristic looking.

"I'm guessing we ended up in the future or something... hey, where're Manic and Sakura?"

"Oh, no! We must've been seperated in the Time Storm!"

"Well then, we gotta find 'em! They'd still be in this Zone, right?"

"Maybe..."

"Whaddya mean MAYBE?"

"That was a bad Time Storm, Sonic. Even if they are in Collision Chaos, they could be in any time frame! Past, Present or Future!"

"So then how do we find them?"

"That's just it, Sonic... we may not be able to."

The Blue Hedgehog just stood there, emotions a mixture of disbelief, fear and feeling useless.

"But..."

Sonia began, Sonic looking up at her with a bit of hope.

"But... ?"

He prompted, his Sister continuing,

"But maybe if we could find one of the Time Stones, then we could surf all the time periods until we found them!"

"Sis, you're a genius!"

"Yeah, but we have to find a Time Stone first, Sonic."

"Well then, let's start looking!"

-

"Whoa, what a wild ride..."

Manic stated as he regained conciousness, Sakura sitting nearby and rubbing her forehead.

"Sis, you okay?"

"Considering we just got tossed, tumbled and everything else imaginable through what was probably one of those Time Storms Sonia mentioned? Fine..."

The two stood up and dusted themselves off, taking a look at their surroundings; a very old and beaten-up looking Collision Chaos Zone.

"... Manic?"

"Yeah, Saku?"

"... we're doomed, aren't we?"

"Probably."

The two sighed exasperatedly, Sakura then putting her hands on her hips.

"Oh, well. Come on, let's try and find Sonic and Sonia..."

"Yeah, they can't be too far away..."

Manic agreed, the two starting to walk forward. After a while though, Sakura stopped, her Brother looking up at her with concern. He knew that look in her eyes.

"What's wrong, Saku? You sense someone?"

"I do, but... I don't recognize the life force. It feels evil though..."

The Green Hedgehog blinked his crystal blue eyes, wondering who thios new enemy was.

He was about to get his answer.

There was suddenly an unusual, short but somewhat powerful rush of wind, and out of seemingly nowhere, a woman appeard before them. Manic's jaw dropped as he observed her; she looked almost exactly like Sakura, except her long hair was black with a red streak down the middle and her eyes were a deep blood red. Her body was clothed by a tight, black leather, sleeveless shirt, black leather pants and white boots, gold bangle bracelets on her wrists and, to their surprise, a Chaos Emerald hanging at her neck like a pendant.

The woman smirked softly at them, a look of pure bloodthirst in her eyes as she said,

"So, you two are here looking for the Time Stones? Sorry to say it, but you won't get far."

"And why not?"

Sakura asked with a wolf-like snarl, Manic starting to become leery of both the women and backing away a bit, sensing a catfight.

"Because I'm here to stop you."

The woman said, Sakura going into a fighting stance.

"Not if I have anything to say about it!"

"Bring it on, girly. I'm supposed to bring you in alive, but... I don't think the Doctor would mind if I roughed you up a bit first."

"Had a feeling you were working for Thunderbutt..."

With that, the two quickly leapt in at each other, Sakura delivering a hard punch to the woman's jaw, but receiving a hard knee bash to the stomach. Manic could only stand back and watch them fight, knowing that if he tried to get in on that, he was probably only signing his own death warrant.

The brawl seemingly became more fierce by the minute, both of them seemingly very evenly matched... in fact, Manic took notice to the fact that their moves were almost the same each other's. They both grabbed each others' long locks of hair at that moment and tried to throw each other down. That failed miserably, as one could guess, and they both ended up shoving the other off to get distance for another attack.

The woman smirked devilishly at this point, the Chaos Emerald she wore as a pendant glowing a bit just before she swiped her hand through the air in front of her, forming a blade of Chaos Energy and sending it Sakura's way. The blonde leapt out of the way, but the Chaos Blade made such an impact in the ground that it exploded, and Sakura was sent flying from the force.

Manic decided to step in now that they were apart, calling out how drumkit from his pendant and starting to drum as hard as he could. Needless to say, an earthquake began, and the woman found herself struggling to keep her balance as the ground starting breaking up all around her.

Sakura didn't want in on that, and after getting up from her fall, stood behind Manic as the earthquake continued.

The woman growled, having had quite enough of this as she held up her hands, forming a huge ball of Chaos Energy and throwing it in Manic and Sakura's direction. Neither of them had time to get out of the way and were blasted back, the entire ground below them crumbling. Their enemy smirked as she watched them tumble through the debris of the destroyed ground, and the two soon hit a once underground recess of water below.

Manic was nearly knocked out by the sheer impact of hitting the water, but managed to hold onto conciousness. Sakura however wasn't so lucky, having been hit in the head by a piece of falling debris and knocked out cold as a milkshake. Manic reached for her, fearing she would drown if he didn't do something, but then, the water began to move, pulling him away from her. He glanced back over his shoulder to see the water moving into a huge pipe made of translucent materials and reinforced with metal braces.

Manic swam against the sudden, hard current and tried to reach his sister, but the force was too strong. He did the only thing he could do and held his breath as he was pulled in, Sakura soon being sucked in behind him.

The torrent of the water seemingly became stronger, and they were shot through several labyrinth-like twists and turns in the pipes, until finally the torrent seemed to calm. Manic wasn't going to be able to hold his breath much longer. He got his bearings and looked to his side, seeing Sakura floating unconcious and limp, her face pale. Her Brother quickly grabbed her wrist and looked up, seeing what looked like an exit from the pipes above them. He didn't heasitate to swim upward, fast as his legs would swim, and soon, he finally broke the surface.

He took a few deep breathes of air to repay oxygen debt, then swam over to a bank of stone flooring nearby. He quickly pulled Sakura up onto the stone tiles and pressed an ear against her chest. She wasn't breathing, and he couldn't hear a heartbeat.

"No... come on Sis, don't die on me now!"

He put his hands together and began pressing down on her chest to pump the water out of her lungs. A good bit came up, and after a few presses, he breathed some air into her lungs, then started pumping again.

"Sakura! If you can hear me, start breathing! It's not your time yet! Please Sakura, we need you!"

He called to her loudly. After a few minutes, nothing happened, and it seemed hopeless, but Manic wasn't going to give up. He kept trying, and finally, Sakura coughed up enough water to fill a fish tank. Manic gently pulled her up into his arms and said,

"That's right, Sis. Breathe..."

Sakura opened her eyes slowly and whispered hoarsely,

"M-Manic? Wha-what happened?"

"I'll explain later... right now, try to rest and get yourself back together..."

The girl nodded slowly, taking slow and deep breaths now. Manic stroked her hair gently to help calm her down after her near death experience.

He began glancing around, wondering where they were now. It looked like a whole other Zone, and a water-based one obviously. It looked sort of like a huge, ancient stone temple of some sort that had been flooded for quite a long time now, what with moss growing on the huge, carved, white stone pillars. It, in a way, reminded Manic of the Labyrinth Zone back on planet Mobius, but... far FAR bigger, and much more articulated. He even wondered if maybe the same people had built this Zone, since some of the carvings in the pillars and walls of raccoon and hawk faces looked similar.

"Wonder what Zone this is... bet Sonia would know."

He muttered to himself, then hearing soft footsteps coming their way. His ears quirked a bit and he turned his head to look, freezing upon seeing Sleet and Dingo standing there.

The Wolf gave that annoying chuckle of his and said,

"You are in Tidal Tempest Zone, my friend... but not for long. You're heading straight to the Roboticizer."

Manic picked Sakura's weak body up and backed away, wondering what he should do. His pendant hadn't enough charge for him to use his drum kit, but he had no other weapons either. He was trapped.

-

"Sonic... do you get the feeling something bad is happening?"

Sonia asked, her Brother nodding in response.

"Yeah, I do... I hope Sakura and Manic are all right..."

"Me too..."

The two were still in Collision Chaos Zone, and had fortunately run into no more Time Storms, but they also still hadn't found a Time Stone. Things were looking grim; No Siblings and no Time Stones.

That's when an odd glow from one of the rusted, metal structures ahead caught Sonic's eye. The glow was a soft but bright yellow, the blue Hedgehog not hesitating to go to it. Sonia blinked and followed him, wondering what he'd found.

Sonic stopped at the structure and reached in, having to squeeze his hand through pretty tightly to get it in, but he meneged. His Sister watched in anticipation, and moments later, Sonic pulled a Time Stone from the metallic rubble.

"It's a Time Stone! We finally found one!"

Sonia exclaimed in excitement, her Brother smirking proudly and nodding as he said,

"Yeah, now let's use this thing to find Sakura and Manic!"

Suddenly, the yellow Time Stone began to glow brighter in Sonic's hands. Sonia blinked and asked,

"Sonic, are you doing that?"

"No, it's doing it on it's own!"

The light was suddenly blinding, like that of the Time Storm, and when it faded, Sonic and Sonia found themselves in the middle of Mobodoon.

"Mobodoon? But how did we end up here?"

Sonic asked, his Emerald eyes darting around in wonder. Sonia was making observations as well and replied,

"Sonic, look at it... it's bigger, more advanced and even more beautiful than it was before! and look!"

Sonia pointed to a huge palace in the center of the City. Sonic's jaw dropped a bit.

"Sis... do you think... we're in the future?"

The pink quilled Hedgehog only nodded in silent response, but wondered just why the Time Stone had happened to bring them here. Then...

"Sonic? Sonia?"

A familiar voice questioned from behind. The two smiled and quickly turned to the voice to see Manic standing there, but... he looked older; he was taller and more slender, wearing tall red boots and a black vest with flames embroidered onto it, his drum medallion still hanging at his neck though. One of his eyes was closed with a scar over it as well.

Next to him stood Vanilla, Manic's arm around her shoulders affectionately, but there was one thing different; something that made Sonic and Sonia's jaws drop...

Her stomach was large and round.

She was pregnant.

-

**End Chapter 10**

-

_Yes, yes, I know it's been forever since I updated this story, but the idea for the already up and completed fanfic called "Before the ARK" got in the way, as well as College and other life issues. This chapter does however instigate a trilogy in the story, and so tomorrow, I will post for you chapter 11, and on Friday, chapter 12. Hope you enjoy! Please review!_


	11. Unsolved Mysteries

"Next Level Underground"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

-

Chapter 11

"Unsolved Mysteries of the Past Revealed"

-

"Manic..."

Sonia whispered in shock as she looked at him and the obviously pregnant Vanilla, as well as the matching wedding bands the two wore.

"You... and Vanilla... I..."

Manic stepped forward and placed his hands on his Sister's shoulders.

"Sis, calm down!"

He told her, his voice more smooth and adult sounding than before. Sonia shook her head to get her bearings, Sonic just standing there in silent shock, all this a little too much for him to comprehend.

"Manic, you're married! And you're gonna be a Father! But... but how? I thought Vanilla was..."

Sonia blurted. The Pink Fox Girl stepped forward, slowly due to her size as she replied,

"A robot? Well, I was a robot, but I wanted to be more... so with help from the proper people, Manic managed to find and use the proper DNA to make me an organic body, and more or less downloaded my mind and personality into it, so I'm not a robot anymore. I'm flesh and blood like you."

She smiled softly, tail swaying back and forth. Sonia could only nod in silent response, all of this as much too much for her as it was Sonic. Manic could only smile softly at his siblings and pat his wife's pregnant womb.

"Yup, the doctor says she'll be coming any day now."

Vanilla smirked at him and playfully argued,

"HE will be coming any day now. I'm the one carrying, I should know."

Manic simply chuckled and kissed her cheek as he said,

"You also thought Jade was gonna be a boy."

"True, but that was my first time..."

Sonia and Sonic's eyes widened. They looked at each other, then back to Vanilla and Manic as Sonia blurted out,

"You already have one child?"

Manic nodded a bit and pointed down to his feet, where a little Fox Girl that couldn't be over 4 years old hid behind his legs; she had green fur the same shade as Manic's, as well as some Hedgehog quills on the back of her head, not to mention she had a few of Manic's unruly forehead quills. Her eyes were an adorable ice pink colour, and she wore a simple pink, sleeveless shirt, a pair of blue jeans and a pair of pink and white sneakers. She looked up at Sonic and Sonia and tilted her head curiously before looking up at Manic and chirping quietly,

"Daddy, why do Uncle Sonic and Aunt Sonia look wierd? They look littler or something..."

Manic gently reached down and picked the little one up as he said,

"I'll explain that to you as soon as I understand it myself, Jade..."

He then looked to his siblings.

"... you're from the past, aren't you?"

Sonic and Sonia nodded, the Blue Hedgehog adding,

"We found this Time Stone on the Little Planet and got sent here..."

He held up the yellow gemstone. Vanilla took it for a second, examining it.

"Yup, it's the real deal all right... "

She said, handing it back to Sonic. Manic set Jade up on his shoulders and said,

"Come on, let's head to the palace. There are some things that we all need to talk about."

-

Meanwhile, back in the past, in Tidal Tempest Zone, Manic was pretty much backed up to a wall, a weak and frail Sakura in his arms as Sleet, Dingo and several Swatbots stared them down. They were trapped.

Sakura grunted a bit and looked up at Manic,

"Bro... hold your ears back..."

She whispered just loud enough for Manic to hear. The Green Hedgehog nodded and folded his ears back, knowing what his sister was going to do as she reached up to her medallion and summoned her flute.

Sleet and Dingo sweatdropped, immediately ordering the Swatbots to fire. Sakura didn't waste time taking the top part off of her recorder flute; maybe she didn't have enough energy to actually play and create a whirlwind, but she did have enough energy to blow a hard breath into her whistle and cause a loud, long screech that made Sleet and Dingo cover their ears, the Swatbots freezing up since the high-pitched sound interfered with their delicate circuitry.

Manic didn't hesitate to dash forward when he saw his chance, quickly moving past Sleet and Dingo and running away.

Sakura stopped blowing and breathed heavily, that having been a lot on her weak body, but she'd managed. Her flute disappeared back into her medallion and Manic kept running, looking back over his shoulder to see Sleet and Dingo starting to follow them now that the sound was over.

He ducked around a corner and tried to lose them, but in doing so, stepped on a secret switch that looked to the naked eye like an ordinary stone in the floor. A trap door suddenly opened up beneath them and dropped them into a room below, the door then closing itself above their heads just before the enemy turned the corner topside.

"Ow... that's hard on the gludious maximus..."

Manic grumbled as he stood up, Sakura still in his arms.

"At least we lost Sleet and Dumbo though..."

He muttered, glancing around the room they'd fallen into. When he looked across the room, he saw a pedestal meticulously and expertly carved from limestone, atop it sitting a glowing, blue gemstone. Manic quirked an eyebrow and stepped toward it.

"I wonder if this is one of the Time Stones Sonia was talkin' about..."

He managed to hold Sakura with one arm and reached for the Time Stone with the other, gently picking it up. As soon as he did so though, he felt a certain rush of energy, and with a bright flash of blue light, suddenly found himself and Sakura in the middle of what looked like a military camp.

"What the... ?"

Manic blinked his crystal blue eyes in confusion, wondering why and how they'd ended up here.

"Where the heck are we?"

He wondered aloud, then hearing Sakura let out a weak cough. He looked to her pale and now unconcious face.

"Doesn't matter, she needs a doctor..."

He stepped up to one of the small military cabins and knocked on the door. He was answered by a young Hedgehog wearing all camos, his body furred by very light purple fur with much darker and very short purple head fur, his eyes a crystal blue colour. He looked a little surprised at the sight at his door, Manic looking a bit panicky as he said,

"Please, I... my Sister needs medical attention. Is there a doctor around?"

The young man looked over Sakura a moment, then cleared his throat and said in a somewhat disguised-sounding voice,

"Bring her in and lay her on the bed. I'll run and get the doctor."

He opened the door wide and looked back into the cabin at his roommate, Manic a bit shocked when he saw who it was as the young soldier said to the roommate,

"Shadow, this girl's hurt. She needs help. You look after her while I get the doctor."

The young, black Hedgehog nodded and gently took Sakura from Manic's grip as the Purple-furred soldier ran out to find a doctor. Sakura was gently laid down on the bed as she now took short, quick breaths. She was getting worse, and Manic knew it.

"She'll be okay, right?"

He asked shakily, Shadow wetting down a washcloth with cool water and beginning to pat down her forehead with it.

"Hard to say... what happened to her?"

The black Hedgehog asked, Manic swallowing hard before replying,

"She... she almost drowned... she stopped breathing and I couldn't get a heartbeat at first, but I managed to get most of the water out of her and she started breathing and her heart started beating again..."

Shadow nodded a bit, pulling her wet camouflage jacket off and tossing it aside before pulling the covers over her to try and warm her up.

"The Doctor will be here soon. She can probably do something for her."

That's when the door suddenly swung open, the Purple-furred Hedgehog and a White Tiger woman wearing a Doctor's uniform rushing in. Shadow stepped back to give the Doctoress room to work, which she got to immediately.

She gently pressed the bell of her stethoscope against Sakura's chest, listening for a moment.

"Her heartbeat's weak, but there. We'll take her to the clinic. I can do more for her there."

-

A few hours later, Sakura was in stable condition and recovering at the clinic, but she was still unconcious. Manic sat by her bedside, watching her as she slept and thanking the Lord she was okay. He gently took her hand and whispered,

"Sorry I couldn't keep you from getting hurt earlier Sis, but you'll be okay now."

He whispered, gently stroking her slightly more colourful skin.

In the meantime, Shadow and his roommate were returning to their bunk after finding out that Sakura would be all right with some rest. Shadow was the first to step into the bunk, and his roommate behind him. He closed the door behind himself and sighed softly, looking to Shadow and speaking with a female voice,

"I'm glad she's all right, but... there's something odd about those two, yet it somehow seems familiar..."

"I get the same feeling, Aleena."

Shadow replied, taking off his jacket and tossing it aside, onto the foot of his bed.

"... I think some of the other soldiers are starting to think there's something odd about you though. You think you'll be able to keep them thinking you're a man much longer?"

Aleena shrugged slightly.

"I don't know, but I'm going to try. I'm definitely not going home as long as I'm being forced into an unwanted marriage."

"Can't say I blame you... well, your secret's safe with me."

Shadow picked up Sakura's still moist jacket from the floor, looking it over.

"I wonder though how that girl got ahold of one of our military's jackets though. She definitely wasn't a soldier like us. You're proof that our military doesn't allow women in as soldiers."

Aleena took the jacket and looked it over.

"You're right, and this one looks old and worn out... all the ones we have are brand new."

She continued studying the jacket, deciding to check the name on the dog tags in the chest pocket. She opened up the pocket and pulled out the old, rusty looking tags. Her jaw dropped.

"Shadow, these tags have your name on them!"

"Say what?"

Shadow snatched the jacket and looked at the tags.

"But... how? These tags look older than me!"

"I'm not sure Shadow, but I bet our new 'friends' could tell us..."

"Good idea... we'll question them once the girl is well enough."

-

In the meantime, Sonic and Sonia were in awe as Vanilla and Manic led them into the huge and beautiful palace of Mobodoon. It was built anew, huge and expertly articulated from many, many gemstones found throughout Mobius.

"I don't believe it, Sis... this is really the future!"

Sonic exclaimed.

"Look at this place! This must be after we've defeated Robotnik!"

"Yes, and it's so beautiful! Manic, where's Mother?"

Sonia asked, the Green Hedgehog simply smiling and leading them to a lift shaft. They all stepped into the vessel and the door closed, the vessel going up the shafts in a smooth, fluid-like motion.

The floors could be seen going by through the crystalline windows as they went up, the vessel then stopping as they reached the very top. Out a window to the side, they could see all of Mobodoon in an amazing view. Sonic and Sonia didn't really want to leave the elevator, but they did after a few moments of sight seeing and followed Manic and his wife down a hallway. At the end of the hallway was a large pair of Emerald doors, which semed to automatically open before them to reveal a large balcony with an unbelievably more lovely view of Mobodoon than the elevator, and sitting on the balcony were Aleena and Shadow.

Sonic and Sonia almost squealed with childlike delight as they ran to their Mother and practically glomped her, the Queen smiling softly and stroking their quills.

"Sonic and Sonia, my dear Children... how good it is to see you."

She said with a fond smile. Sonic looked up at her and said,

"We missed you, Mom! It's great to finally see you!"

"Yeah! We thought we were never gonna meet you!"

Sonia added, Aleena chuckling and hugging them tight as she said,

"Nothing could keep me from my children forever."

The two young Hedgehogs basked in the glory of having their Mother there for a long while, Sonia then looking to Shadow.

"Shadow, you're not a robot anymore!"

She said with surprise when she realized it, Shadow nodding and replying,

"Yes, your Mother found a way to de-roboticize me a few years back. It's great to be flesh and blood again."

"Where's Sakura? I figured she'd be with you..."

Shadow was silent and looked to the ground, Sonic and Sonia puzzled by his suddenly sad behaviour. Sonic looked to his Mother.

"Mom? Where is Sakura? I figured we would've seen her by now..."

He wondered, Aleena looking down at the floor herself, quiet a moment before replying,

"She passed away... a few years ago..."

Sonic and Sonia's eyes widened in pure shock. Sakura? Dead? Could it be true? Aleena continued,

"I can't tell you how she died... there wouldn't be anything you could do to stop it, and if you tried... history would be changed for the worst. I'm sorry."

The Brother and Sister stood there in their shock a moment more before looking to each other, feeling tears sting their eyes. Sonic finally spoke,

"Saku's gonna... die? But... that... she... I don't get it, why does she have to die? There's gotta be some way we can..."

Aleena shook her head slowly and sadly, Shadow ever so silent as he just continued to sit in silence and stare at the floor. Sonia sniffled a bit and hugged Sonic, who tried to comfort her as she cried, but he was crying himself.

"So... that's why the Oracle said... Council of Four and not... Council of Five..."

The pink quilled Hedgehog sniffled, Sonic not saying a word as he continued trying to comfort her. Aleena gently placed a hand on Sonic's shoulder and said,

"Try not to fret, dear... I know it's sad, but when her time comes, she'll be ready... and happy, knowing she had a family who cared for her so much."

"... thanks, Mom."

Sonic said, his voice cracking a bit with his tears.

-

"Sakura, wake up. Come on..."

Sakura heard someone beckon. She groaned a little and slowly opened her aqua green eyes. Her vision was fuzzy at first, but she could make out the image of Manic standing over her.

"Ugh... Manic?"

She murmured, her Brother nodding as he gently patted down her forehead with a cool cloth.

"Hey, Sis. How you feelin'?"

"... like I got run over by a Reindeer."

She slowly sat up, rubbing her forehead as she added,

"But at least I feel better than I did before I passed out."

"That's good. Um, listen... Shadow and Allen want to talk to you..."

Manic gestured to Shadow and Aleena standing nearby, Allen having been Aleena's male disguise name. Shadow took a few steps toward Sakura and said,

"Sakura, I took a look at your jacket last night, and I'd like some explanations. Why is it exactly like the jackets our military wears, but yet it looks so old instead of new like our jackets do, and furthermore, why does it have dog tags with MY name and info on them?"

"Well, I..."

Sakura was rather quiet, wondering how to answer this. She decided there was no lie she could tell to cover this up, but... she wouldn't tell the WHOLE truth, so as not to disrupt the future by screwing up what was obviously the past to her and replied,

"... Manic and I come from the future. We found a Time Stone and ended up getting shot back into the past... the reason I have your jacket is... well, someone gave it to me, but I can't say who."

Shadow and Aleena looked at each other in surprise, the Princess then speaking,

"A Time Stone? As in... from the Little Planet?"

"That's right."

Manic said, holding up the blue gem for Shadow and Aleena to see. The Black Hedgehog took it and began examining it.

"It's the real deal all right. I can feel it's energy."

"But how in the world did you two attain such a rare and powerful gem?"

'Allen' asked in his masculine disguise voice, Manic taking it upon himself to reply now,

"We were on the Little Planet to stop some thieves who were after the Time Stones for evil purposes. We found that one in some kinda water based Zone, and soon as I touched it, BAM! We were here."

"But then, why haven't you gone back? You have the Stone..."

"We'd love to, but Sakura wasn't in good enough condition, and plus... I have no idea how to work the thing."

"Good points..."

Shadow mumbled, handing the Time Stone back to Manic. Sakura coughed a little and said,

"We need to get back somehow. The others need us."

"Not until your better, Sakura. You're in no condition now to go out fighting."

Her Brother told her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders and laying her back down. Sakura sat right back up.

"Manic, I'm fine now, just a little tired. I can do it if I can get back..."

Manic sighed defeatedly and replied,

"Okay, I know there's no stopping you, but who knows how long it'll be before we find a way to use the Time Stone to get back to our own time?"

Sakura could only nod defeatedly. At the moment, there was nothing any of them could do.

That's when an alarm began wailing outside, Shadow and 'Allen' not hesitating to jump up and run out the door. Sakura sat up again.

"What's going on?"

Manic wondered aloud, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder to try and get her to lay back down again.

"It must be an attack, or maybe some kind of raid."

The blonde speculated, her Brother unable to keep her laying down as she quickly got up and went to the window to see what was going on.

It was a bloodbath. Furries of all kinds were going at one another's throats and other vital areas with guns, knives, and any other weapon they could find. Sakura growled.

"Manic, we have to go out there and help."

"Saku, we're in the past! We shouldn't interfere or we could screw up the future!"

Sakura wasn't listening, grabbing a nearby rifle and loading it with the ammo that sat with it.

"This is war, Manic! There's no time to think of that sort of thing!"

With that, she dashed out the door, Manic hot on her heels if for nothing else but to keep her from getting herself killed.

They froze once they were outside though... all around the military camp were the dead and injured bodies of soldiers, ally and enemy alike. Manic swallowed hard, the stench of burnt flesh from bullet wounds making him feel the need to throw up.

Sakura remained on guard though; Shadow had trained her well. Even with all the death around her, she was keeping her cool and staying prepared to fight should a living enemy come into sight.

Manic was feeling more uneasy by the second, looking to his Sister and gently laying a hand on her arm as he said,

"Saku... there's nothing we can do... let's get outta here..."

Sakura then held up her hand in a gesture for Manic to be silent... she sensed something close.

A dead silence flowed between the two for the next few moments, Sakura's aqua green eyes slowly and precisionly scanning the area for enemies. The only sound either of them made was Manic swallowing at the lump of tension in his throat.

That's when Sakura suddenly turned to the side in a swift motion, aiming the rifle into the darkness between two nearby cabins... but someone else was quicker, a bullet firing accurately from the shadows and knocking the rifle out of the girl's hands. She grunted in surprise, not noticing the deep burn wound on her hand where the bullet had grazed her or her brother yelling her name in surprise and concern.

She growled in anger, not about to give up just because the enemy got a lucky shot. Sakura quickly darted and ran to the side, starting to go around one of the cabins so she could get out of firing range for the moment, and perhaps later make a sneak attack. Manic wasn't hesitant to follow her.

As soon as they rounded a corner though, they were met with what they were both surprised to see was... a Robian!

"What the heck's a Robian doin' here in the first Mobian war? This shouldn't be happening yet!"

Manic exclaimed, the roboticized Mobian before them lighting up it's electronic, red eyes in glee of the victims it saw before itself as it raised the laser cannon on it's arm.

"I dunno Manic, but it's obviously here and we won't be long if we don't do something!"

Sakura leapt forward, drop kicking the Robian in the chest before it had a chance to fire it's laser. The metallic furry let out a robotic growl and grabbed her arm to throw her, Sakura snarling in a wolf-like manner before being thrown... but grabbing the Robian's arm in the process and taking him with her. The two went into an all out brawl as soon as they hit the ground, Manic backing up a bit from the two combatants. He was actually beginning to find himself scared of Sakura.

The way she fought... Manic had never seen anything or anyone but a Robian or some of Robotnik's built-from-scratch robots fight so fiercely. Sakura had something that Manic hadn't realized she had before, and it scared him; A killer instinct.

A few minutes later, there was nothing left of the Robian but some scrap metal, Manic just standing there in shock as he looked on. Sakura turned to him, her Brother able to see that cold, killer instinct deep in her eyes. She then walked to him and asked,

"Manic, are you all right?"

The Green Hedgehog didn't reply, Sakura quirking an eyebrow in confusion as though she'd done nothing wrong.

"What's the matter, Manic? You look pale..."

"Sakura... you... why did you do that?"

"... Manic, he was gonna kill us... I had to do something to stop it..."

Manic swallowed hard, not really paying what she'd said just now much mind as he continued,

"He was a Robian, Saku... he didn't know what he was doing... and you... you didn't fight to disable, you fought to KILL... "

"Manic, I didn't have a choice..."

"Neither did he when he got roboticized... there's always a chance we may find a way to deroboticize Robians in the future, but he never got the chance! After what you did just now, I... I'm scared of you! I thought you were a Freedom Fighter, but you don't even have the regard for life I thought you did!"

"Manic, please, I..."

Sakura suddenly stopped mid-sentence, wincing a bit in some sort of pain. Manic blinked in confusion, wondering what was wrong, Sakura then losing conciousness and falling to the ground, a tranquilizer dart in her back.

"Sakura!"

Manic called, kneeling down next to her and immediately pulling the dart out. It was a big dosage tranq, so she was going to be sleeping for a good, long while.

Manic quickly looked up to try and see who'd shot the dart... only to soon feel the hard sting of one imbedding itself into his shoulder. He grunted and fall to his knees, quickly pulling it out and looking at it for a second. It was working fast, because already one dart looked like three to him... he'd be unconcious in seconds.

That's when a familiar laugh suddenly flowed through the area, Manic feeling a chill run down his spine and back again as he looked up; just in time to see the form of a younger and somewhat more slim looking Robotnik walking toward them.

"No... can't be... not here... not... now..."

Manic managed to murmur before finally losing conciousness.

-

"Manic... Manic, come on, wake up."

A familiar female voice beckoned, the Hedgehog in question groaning a bit with a massive headache as he felt her gently nudge his shoulder. He reluctantly forced his crystal blue eyes open, his vision blurry at first, but it soon cleared after a few blinks and he could see Sakura sitting over him.

"Saku... ?"

He murmured with a little incoherence, slowly sitting up and shaking his head to get his bearings. He looked around, finding himself and Sakura trapped in a tall, cylindrical glass vessel. Outside the vessel were all the makings of a laboratory, and a familiar one at that.

"Looks like we're in one of Robotnik's labs, but it all looks cleaner and way more new..."

Sakura muttered just as Manic had the same thought, the Green Hedgehog nodding a bit before standing and pressing his hands against the glass, but it didn't give. Sakura sighed.

"I tried everything I knew already, Bro. Nothing's breaking that glass. It's concave from the inside, so it has a lot more structure and stability from in here. It'd take a hit from the convex outside where it's weak to break it."

"But there's gotta be some way outta here..."

Manic said, pondering on the point.

That's when, across the room, the electronic door slid open with a soft hiss of air, the younger and somewhat more slim figure of Dr. Robotnik that Manic had had the displeasure of seeing before stepping in.

Manic and Sakura were silent and unshaken as he walked to their glass prison though, the Doctor chortling a little as he looked at them before saying,

"Yes, you two will make fine guinea pigs to test my new invention."

He gloated, the two simply cutting him their coldest glares. Robotnik seemed to take more interest in Sakura though and tapped the glass like a kid tapping the fish tank in a pet store.

"Yes, very fine guinea pigs indeed. Especially you, young Miss. I'll love seeing how my Roboticizer works on humans."

He chuckled egotistically again, Manic huffing before he retorted,

"There's no way we'll let you turn us into your mindless robotic slaves."

"I don't think you have much of a choice."

Robotnik said with a confident smirk, walking across the room to a large, metallic bin of some kind. It looked like something that might hold small robots, or perhaps small animals waiting to be roboticized.

"Enjoy your time left as living creatures before you're turned to flesh and blood. Right now, I need to make sure my only non-robotic creation is turning out properly."

Sakura and Manic blinked and looked at each other in confusion at his words, wondering what in the world Robotnik would wanna create that wasn't some robot of mass destruction.

The doctor reached down into the bin, grinning deviously before pulling out what to Manic and Sakura's shock was... a baby!

Needless to say, neither of them had any idea what to think, both of them in a total silent shock as they watched Robotnik take the little one over to a table nearby to examine her. Now that they were closer, Manic and Sakura could tell that the child was a girl... with quite a good bit of soft, blonde hair for her age and unique aqua green eyes.

That's when it hit both of them like a ton of bricks;

That child was Sakura.

-

End Chapter 11 


	12. Race Against Time

"Next Level Underground"

By

Sakura Courage Solo

-

Chapter 12

"Race Against Time"

-

Sakura and Manic sat there, totally stunned as they watched Robotnik check the baby girl over. After a long while, Manic looked to his Sister.

"Sakura... ? You okay?"

The blonde girl didn't reply, just seemingly staring into space, even after Robotnik had put her younger version back down into her crib and had left the room. Manic waved a hand in front of her face.

"Sakura? Hello! Come on, talk to me!"

She still didn't reply, not making any movement for a few more moments until finally and suddenly breaking down into tears. Manic was surprised at first; The only time he'd ever seen her break down like this was when Shadow was roboticized and had attacked her. He knelt down next to Sakura and gently hugged her, letting her cry into his shoulder. Manic patted her back gently.

"Sssshhh, it's okay Sis, don't cry..."

"N-no... it's not okay, Manic..."

Sakura choked through her sobs.

"I... I'm some... some product of that maniac... just some experiment or specimen of his... I... I'm some kind of monster..."

"No you're not, you're my Sister! You can't help how you came into this world!"

Sakura's nerves weren't calming any though and she just continued sobbing loudly, Manic's attempts to comfort her turning out futile, but he kept trying anyway. After a few hours, she eventually cried herself to sleep. Manic continued to hold her as she slumbered, gently stroking her hair in a soothing manner, hoping to keep her from having nightmares. However, he couldn't help but ponder that this explained a lot; even with all the training in the world, she was way stronger than a normal girl her age should be, not to mention that uncanny ability to sense things, and that killer instinct she showed earlier... Manic was feeling bad now for how he acted to her earlier after she'd torn apart the Robian. She was literally bred for war, and she couldn't help that.

It was at that moment he heard metal rattling up above, causing his ears to twitch as he looked up to see the grate on the ventilation duct moving a bit. He quirked an eyebrow, the grate then finally coming off and being pulled into the duct above, just before a rope was dropped down. Aleena and Shadow came sliding down the rope, Manic smiling.

"Allen! Shadow!"

He whispered loudly to them, the two turning when they heard his voice and quickly moving to the glass vessel that incarcerated he and his Sister.

"Are you two all right?"

Shadow asked, Manic nodding a bit before replying,

"We're okay... Sakura just kinda dozed off. We've been here a long time..."

He gently nudged her as Aleena went to the control panel for the glass vessel and began trying to figure out how to get it open. Sakura grunted a little and came to. Manic smiled.

"Come on, Sakura. We're gettin' outta here."

Sakura blinked slowly and blankly, seemingly not all there as she nodded slowly, Manic helping her stand up. Aleena soon found the right button sequence and the glass cell opened, Manic and Sakura stepping out.

"Thanks."

Manic said, Aleena nodding. Shadow had by now noticed Sakura's child version in the crib and had gently picked her up.

"Wonder what the heck these guys are doing with a little kid like this..."

He noted, Aleena looking to him and replying,

"I don't know, but this is no place for her... let's take her with us and maybe we can send her up to Sanctuary later."

Shadow nodded, then looking to Sakura and Manic.

"Follow us, we'll get you out of here."

Manic nodded, taking Sakura's hand and following Shadow and Aleena as they moved through the a door on the far side of the room.

-

The escape was fairly easy... probably too easy, the group soon finding themselves back in the military camp, where only a handful of soldiers were still alive. Aleena and Shadow were conversing with the other soldiers as Manic and Sakura sat in the next room, the girl just sitting there in total silence as she stared at the floor. She didn't even react when Manic hugged her, her only movement after a long while being to look over to the side where Shadow's bed was, her younger self sleeping there soundly. Sakura cringed a bit, just the thought cutting at her like a knife.

"Come on, stop it Sis... it doesn't matter to me how you came into this world, I think you're cool how you turned out..."

Sakura finally gave some reaction, huffing slightly and closing her eyes as she said,

"What, a ruthless, blood thirsty woman with a killer instinct that scares you white?"

"Saku, that's not what I..."

That's when Manic noticed a sudden glow from the pouch at his side and blinked, opening it up. There was the Time Stone he'd found earlier, giving off a bright glow. He gently picked it up.

"Sakura, look..."

He whispered, Sakura opening her aqua green eyes and looking at the stone, blinking in confusion.

"What's it doing?"

She asked, the light then suddenly becoming blindingly bright.

-

"... try not to worry over it."

Shadow said in a half-hearted tone as he watched Sonic and Sonia cry against one another. They sniffled and looked to him as he continued,

"In a way, it's probably better... I didn't like it, but Sakura was bred for war. It's all she knew. If she had lived in the peace that we have now, without having to fight or constantly train herself for battle, she'd have gone nuts. At least right now, she's in a peace that she knows what to do with."

"I guess you're right, but still..."

Sonia looked to the ground.

"It doesn't seem fair... why does it have to be her? She didn't do anything wrong..."

"It isn't fair, Sonia. I miss her just as much as you, but..."

Shadow walked to her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.

"There are some things you just can't change. I'd do anything to have my daughter back, but... nothing can change it. Besides... she's at peace now, where nothing and no one can ever harm her ever again."

Sonic and Sonia could only nod silently, attempting to dry their still running tears. Jade, who still sat on Manic's shoulders, felt sorry for them and climbed down from her perch, moving over to Sonia and hugging her leg in a childish attempt at comforting. Sonia managed a smile and knelt down to hug her niece. Sonic also managed a smile as he watched them, then sighing.

"Sonia, the future here is nice and all... well, other than Saku being gone, but... how do you think we should get back to the past? We have to go back and help beat Robotnik or this future'll never happen."

He said, Sonia standing and turning to him.

"Good question, Sonic... it was definitely the Time Stone that sent us here, but... it was so random! We didn't even do anything! I dunno how we'd even begin trying to control it enough to get ourselves back to the past!"

"Well, we have to figure out something. Robuttnik isn't gonna beat himself!"

"I know, I know..."

Sonia huffed a bit in agitation, Jade just looking up and watching them confusedly as they thought. Sonic pulled the Time Stone from it's holding place in his quills and examined it, trying to figure something out.

"There's gotta be a way..."

He murmured, closing his eyes and wondering for a brief moment what would happen if they didn't get back to the past. With his eyes closed however, he didn't notice the stone starting to glow in his hands.

"Sonic! The Time Stone!"

Sonia blurted, Sonic's eyes snapping open as the glow became near blindingly bright. He hoped that it was going to send them back where they came from now. Jade shielded her eyes with one hand, still hugging Sonia's leg with the other. Manic, who guessed what was happening, quickly moved forward.

"Jade, get away from there!"

He yelled, making a grab for her, but the Time Stone gave off a sudden flash of light, blinding everyone in radius as Manic fell flat of his face on the floor. He groaned a little and slowly sat up, looking at the spot where Sonic, Sonia and Jade had been standing; they were gone.

"Oh, no... Jade..."

He whispered defeatedly, Vanilla quickly going to him.

"Manic, are you all right?"

She asked, helping him stand, but he just stared blankly at the spot where his Daughter had been standing. Of course he wasn't all right; his daughter had just been sent way into the past.

-

Manic blinked several times to recover his vision after the blinding light, wondering just what that Time Stone had done now. He looked to Sakura, who was also attempting to recover her vision.

"You okay Sis?"

He asked, Sakura nodding a bit in response. She looked around silently.

"Where are we?"

She wondered aloud as she observed the gemstone caverns around them, Manic following her gaze a bit as he replied,

"Not sure... but I wonder if maybe that Clock Rock sent us back into the future..."

That's when another flash suddenly illuminated the cavern nearby, both of them jumping in surprise. The flash faded as quickly as it came, revealing Sonic, Sonia and Jade.

"Sonic! Sonia!"

Manic called, the two Hedgehogs blinking in surprise and turning to him.

"Manic? Manic!"

Sonic yelled, he and Sonia quickly moving into a group hug with Manic. Sakura just kind of stood to the side, feeling like she didn't belong in that hug. Sonic noticed this and looked to her.

"Yo, Saku, what's up? Somethin' buggin' you?"

"I'm fine..."

She lied, leaning against the cavern wall. Sonic pulled back from Manic and Sonia and walked to her.

"Come on Sis, tell me what's wrong..."

Sakura just shook her head, Manic noticing Jade at that moment. He sweatdropped a bit and quirked an eyebrow.

"Uh, Sonia... ? Who is this and why does she look kinda like me?"

He asked, Sonia giving a nervous laugh and a sweatdrop as she said,

"Well, you see, it's kind of a long story.."

She didn't get to finish her sentence, cut off as a red hot laser shot suddenly missed her face by less then an inch, causing her to yelp in surprise and jump back. Everyone quickly turned to look in the direction from which the laser shot had come, Sleet and Dingo standing there with a small army of Swatbots.

"Oh, you'll have PLENTY of time to tell your baby Brother everything, Sophia... while you're all waiting in Roboticization Row."

Sleet said, laughing deviously as the Swatbots and Dingo moved forward to attack. Jade quickly darted behind Manic's legs.

"Daddy, I'm scared!"

She cried, Manic sweatdropping again in shock.

"Daddy?"

He wondered aloud in the confusion that was mixed with the shock, then shaking it off and gently picking up Jade, figuring it was better to ask questions later and get her somewhere safe now. Meanwhile, Sonic, Sonia and Sakura ran into battle. Sleet laughed again and said,

"I MAY spare you if you give me the Time Stones that you have!"

Sonic spin dashed right through a couple of Swatbots while Sonia shot some down with her Keyboard Rifle, Sakura's killer instinct kicking in as she went on a couple of the 'bots with pure, brute strength and anger. Sonic came out of his spin dash and glared up at Sleet.

"You'll have to pry 'em out of our cold dead hands, Sleet!"

"Then so be it..."

The Wolf seethed, Manic in the meantime still trying to get Jade out of the place safely, but a laser blast hit the floor in front of him and caused it to explode, throwing him back and to the floor. Jade screamed as she fell from his arms.

"No!"

Manic yelled, quickly getting up and moving to her, hoping she wasn't hurt. Sonic, Sonia and Sakura were getting worn down though, not knowing how much longer they could fight like this. One 'bot managed to grab hold of Sakura and threw her hard against a large, quartz pillar so hard that it shook the ceiling and floor of the place, causing some gemstone stalagtites above to rattle in symphony like a huge windchime. Sakura grunted as she slid to a sitting position on the floor, but the windchime-like noise gave her an idea. She looked up at the stalagtites above and smirked, then standing.

"Sonic! Sonia! Manic! Cover your ears!"

No one had time to ask questions, Sakura calling out her flute immediately and pulling the whistle-like top part off, then taking a deep breath and blowing into it as hard as she could. To a normal person, there would be no sounds, but to Sonic, Manic, Sonia, Jade, Sleet and Dingo, it was a deafening, high pitched screech.

"Ah! Saku, what're ya doin'?"

Sonic yelled as he covered his ears, but Sakura didn't reply. She kept blowing as long as her lungs would allow. The sound seemed to interfere with the sensitive electronics in the Swatbots' electronic brains, as they'd all frozen up now, but that wasn't what Sakura was aiming for. That's when everything started to rumble, the gemstone stalagtites above starting to chime again.

Sakura finally stopped blowing and took some deep breaths to repay oxygen debt, everyone rather relieved that she had stopped the noise, but they now noticed the rumbling and looked above, then sweatdropping.

"Oh, spork..."

Sonic murmured as he grabbed Sonia, knowing what was happening here as he held on tight to her wrist and ran for it, grabbing Manic and Jade along the way. Sakura quickly followed them... all though unable to keep uo with Sonic, she was quick enough to most likely get out safely.

That's when the whole cavern began collapsing behind them, Sakura pumping her legs as hard as she could until finally seeing the cavern exit ahead as Sonic dashed through it. She made one last desperate leap, managing to get out the cavern exit just as the whole thing collapsed and she hitting the ground rolling. She rolled onto her back and sat up, shaking her head a bit and looking to the now closed up cave exit.

"That was close..."

Sonia noted, sighing with relief. Manic nodded in ageement, gently holding Jade close as she cried into his shoulder.

"Ssshhh, it's okay, you're safe now."

He whispered, Sonic going to Sakura and helping her up.

"That was some quick thinking back there, Saku. Even if Sleet and Dingo did make it out, their Swatbots were frozen up and couldn't've gotten out, and without those 'Bots, they're not gonna be searching out any Time Stones."

Sonia nodded in agreement and added,

"Yeah, they'd have to go back down to Mobius and back to base to get a new mini-army, but by the time they did that and came back, the Little Planet would be back in space."

"Meaning the Time Stones'd be safe for at least another year."

Sonic added as he smirked, then realizing something.

"Hey, what happened to those Time Stones we had?"

"Good question..."

Manic replied, patting Jade's back to calm her down.

"When Saku and I got back to the future, it was like the one we had disappeared..."

"You were in the future?"

Sonia asked in surprise, Sonic scratching his head before saying,

"Heh, funny, Sonia and I ended up in the future... but our Time Stone obviously disappeared when we got back here to the present too."

"It may be a sign that the Little Planet is about to go back into space. We should probably head back down to Mobius."

Sonia said, everyone nodding in agreement and quickly heading out.

-

Later that night, after explanations were made, stories were told and Manic passed out from the shock of finding out that Jade was in fact his and Vanilla's Daughter from the future, everyone in the Van was seemingly sound asleep... or so was thought.

Sometime around 3 in the morning, Sonic awoke feeling the need to use the bathroom and yawned, jumping down from his bunk and heading toward the rest room. Once he was there though, he noticed the door wasn't shut all the way, and he heard someone inside whispering to themselves. He peeked in the crack in the door, seeing Sakura sitting in the bathroom floor on her knees with her back turned to him, whispering to herself,

"There's no way I can live with this... I'm just some kind of... beast used for war... just a tool... a tool for killing... I can't deal with that, no way... I even scared my own Brother sheet white... "

Sonic felt sorry for her, hearing her sniffle and begin crying. He was about to go in and comfort her, but that's when, in the moonlight that flowed in through the bathroom window, he could see the gleam of a sharp knife in Sakura's hand. Before Sonic really had time to wonder what she was doing with the knife, she'd used it to make a deep, quick, clean cut in her wrist.

-

End Chapter 12 


End file.
